Out of the Labyrinth
by RussetDivinity
Summary: When she was a little girl, Ginny Weasley's brother wished her away to the goblins. She was able to escape, but years later, she finds herself drawn back to Jareth's kingdom to test herself against the Goblin King once more.
1. Common Courtesy

_"I wish the goblins would come and take you away!"_

Years later, Ginevra Weasley would know that her brother's words were nothing more than childish spite, shouted out because he felt that, being the only girl, she was the favorite of both their parents and that he, as the youngest boy, had been only an attempt at a girl that didn't work out. Years later, she would know that her brother didn't hate her and was in fact very fond of her, despite their arguments and fights. Years later, she would even forgive him for shouting those words at her and for sending her off to the Goblin King.

For now, Ginny was furious at everyone, but mostly at her older brother.

It wasn't as though she had been doing anything wrong. She had just wanted to play with him, since Fred and George were off at Hogwarts and there was no one else around. Mum was busy with cleaning something, and Dad was off at work, so it was just her and Ron in the Burrow. There were days when Ginny was happy to play on her own, but today she wanted someone to play with, and so she had gone to her brother's room and knocked on the door.

"Go away!" Ron shouted.

"No!" Even though she was a year younger, Ginny could be just as loud as her brother. She had to be loud, after all, to be heard over all her other brothers, even if Bill, Charlie, and Percy weren't as loud as they had used to be. At least, Percy wasn't. Bill and Charlie still liked to cause all sorts of trouble. "I want to play with you!"

"I don't want to play with you!" Ron called back. "Go chase the gnomes or something."

Ginny kicked her brother's door. She had chased the gnomes the day before, and she was pretty sure not many had come back in. "If you don't play with me, I'll tell Mum you're being mean!"

"Get lost, you little tattle!"

Being called a tattle was the last straw, and Ginny ran to the head of the stairs. "Mum!" she shrieked. "Ron's not playing with me, and I asked him nicely!" She hadn't, but she did know that Mum would always take her side if she said she had asked nicely, and really, she hadn't started by kicking his door, so she supposed that counted as asking nicely, at least for her.

"That's not true!" Ron yelled, shoving his door open so it slammed against the wall. "Mum, she's lying! She's not asking nicely at all!"

From floors below, Mum's voice drifted up. "Stop fighting, you two, and try to get along!"

Ginny stuck out her tongue. "See? Now you have to play with me. Mum says we have to get along, and that means we're playing." She wouldn't even force him to play with dolls or anything – Fred and George were better at that, even if they did like ruining the stories for her – but she would insist on borrowing his broom to play Quidditch on the lawn, because she was tired of using Charlie's old one.

Ron's face was almost as red as his hair, and Ginny wondered if they were going to get into a fight. That might almost be fun, and she knew she could leave a few bruises on him and not get in as much trouble as he would, because both her parents would be convinced she was just defending herself. "You little brat," he muttered, and turned to stalk off to his room. Ginny raced after him, slipping into his room before he could close it all the way. There were advantages to being small.

"I want you to play with me," she said, setting her hands on her hips, the way Mum did when she was angry with Dad or one of the older kids. "I haven't played with you all this week, so now it's time."

"I don't want to play with you," Ron said, flopping onto his mattress. It lay just below a Chudley Cannons poster and next to a small pile of comics about Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. "I want you to get out of my room and leave me alone."

"Not until you play with me."

Ron rolled onto his side and glared at her. "I wish the goblins would come and take you away," he said, and Ginny supposed it was supposed to be a low, dangerous voice like the bad guys in the stories Bill told them, but coming from a nine-year-old, it just sounded silly. Ginny was about to laugh and point that out when something grabbed her wrist and another thing lifted her off the ground, and then she was gone.

* * *

Ron stared. He couldn't believe what had happened. One minute he had been arguing with his sister, and then suddenly she was gone. It was like she had vanished into thin air, but he knew she couldn't have Apparated. She was nowhere near old enough, and the only people in the family who would have wanted to teach her were Fred and George, who were also much too young. Ginny was just gone, as though it had happened by magic.

It must have been magic. There wasn't any other explanation, and trying to come up with one would be like something a Muggle would do. But he knew better. Something had shown up and taken Ginny, but either it had been invisible or he couldn't remember what it had been.

His first instinct was to call Mum, but that would only end terribly. She would know he had done something, and he would get in trouble, and it wasn't worth it since he didn't even know what he had done. He'd just have to find some other way to get Ginny back, some way to follow her on his own. Fretting for the first time he could remember in all his nine years, he sat on the edge of his bed and stared at where Ginny had been. What had he been doing just before she vanished?

_"I wish the goblins would come and take you away."_

It was just like out of one of Bill's stories, and he supposed that was where the idea had come from, even if he hadn't remembered. Bill liked to tell stories about goblins – not the Gringotts goblins, but some other kind that lived far away – and how they would come to take away naughty children. Ron didn't believe the stories but thought they were loads of fun, with the parents wishing away their children and then deciding to go rescue them. He hadn't thought a brother could wish away a sister, but apparently that was what had happened. He'd said the right words, and then Ginny had vanished. It must have been the goblins that had taken her.

He'd have to go out and find her.

His first thought – aside from telling Mum – was to write a letter to Bill and tell him what had happened. Bill would understand, since he was the one who knew the stories. He might even be able to tell him what he would need to go after Ginny. The journeys could last hours or even days, so he would need food and things to trade with, since there were always people trading in those stories.

"Ron, are you still arguing with your sister?"

Ron froze at the sound of Mum's voice. He hadn't expected her to call up the stairs, and for a moment he thought that maybe she knew. But she couldn't have, not unless she had been standing outside. "No," he called.

"Do you know where she is?"

He'd have to lie, otherwise she would know what he had done. "I think she's playing outside!"

Mum said nothing in response, and Ron hoped she had bought it. Maybe he ought to run outside too, so she couldn't ask any questions. It was a nice day, and he could probably wander around a while before he had to be called in for dinner. Thought should give him enough time to save Ginny.

Before leaving his room, Ron looked over his shoulder, right to where Ginny had been standing, and said, "I wish the goblins would come and take me away."

Nothing happened, and he took off down the stairs. It had been worth a try.

* * *

Ginny was in a castle, but it certainly wasn't Hogwarts. At least, she thought it wasn't Hogwarts. She also thought it was a castle, but it was hard to tell. She could only see the one room, and that room looked like it belonged to the worst castle she could imagine. It was dark and made entirely of stone, with a hole cut in the wall for a window. Straw was scattered on the floor, and all around her were chattering beings smaller even than she was, and she was remarkably small for an eight-year-old.

"What's going on?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to pull away from all the little creatures. It was a nearly impossible task, as they seemed intent on keeping as close to her as possible. "What are you?"

"We're goblins, pet," one of them said in a high-pitched voice, and Ginny shrank back even further. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't like this one bit.

Her first thought was to argue with the little thing. It didn't look like any goblin she had ever seen when Dad would let her tag along to Gringotts. They were of a similar height, but these goblins – if goblins they were – looked more wild and strange, like little trolls drawn by a child. She wanted to insist that they couldn't possibly be goblins, but instead she held her tongue. After all, they wouldn't lie to her about what they were, and Ron had wished for goblins to come and take her away, just like in one of Bill's stories.

Bill's stories also had the horrid castle, and she was sure that if she looked out the window she would see a labyrinth stretching away into the distance on all sides. It struck her as perfectly logical that Bill's stories would be true – he wasn't a liar at all, not like Fred and George, even if their lies were funny – so she held up her chin as strongly as she could and said, "If you're goblins, then I want you to take me to the Goblin King."

"Of course," one of the goblins said, bowing and quite handily clubbing another goblin, who had just been wondering how she could know about the Goblin King. "Right this way, dear child."

Ginny followed the group of goblins through the halls of the castle, all of which looked just as dreary and old as Bill's stories had made it seem, and nothing at all like what his stories of Hogwarts were like. She heard strange sounds coming from other parts of the castle, things that she couldn't recognize and wasn't sure she wanted to, though some of them sounded like howls of pain. Still, she did her best to show no fear, and soon enough she was inside a large room that had to be the throne room.

It was grander than the rest of the castle, but that didn't say very much. It was the largest room she had encountered, with a pit set into the floor that looked like it could be used for staging fights. Ginny walked cautiously around the edge of the pit until she stood before a throne that held a man who could only be the Goblin King.

He was tall and lanky, taller than anyone Ginny knew, though that could have come from the fact that his arms and legs were very thin. His hair was pale, and he had the sort of face that looked almost but not quite human. His eyes were heavily lidded, as though he were either bored or sleepy, and in the hand that wasn't dangling over the arm of the throne, he held three crystal balls, which he turned in a slow circle. As Ginny approached, his gaze rose from the balls to her, and a slow smile spread across his face.

"And what have we here?" he asked. "Some other little girl come to be turned into a goblin?"

"Not a chance," Ginny said. "I'm Ginny Weasley, and I'm going to win my way home." Then she would have a great story to tell Bill, even better than the ones he told about children being rescued.

The smile became a smirk. "Are you, now? And how do you intend to do that?"

"I'll find my way out of this labyrinth." It seemed like the only logical answer, really. Unless he wanted to try beating her at a game of Quidditch – and she didn't think goblin kings played Quidditch – her best chance was at something that wouldn't involve competition. She was headstrong, but she also knew that she was an eight-year-old girl and wouldn't be able to do much against a grown man. Even Quidditch seemed like a stretch.

The man got to his feet, and Ginny saw that he was indeed taller than anyone else she knew. She would have been tempted to retreat, but that wasn't the sort of thing a girl with several older Gryffindor brothers did, so she held her ground. "Very well," he said. "It's only common courtesy that I give you a chance to escape on your own, so take it." He waved his hand, and she heard a large door opening behind her with creaks and groans that sounded as though it was made of metal that hadn't been moved in years. "You have thirteen hours to find your way out. If you can't do it in that time, you will stay here and become a goblin."

"And if I can, then I get sent back home?"

The Goblin King threw back his head and laughed. "You're very clever for one so young. Yes. As soon as you step out of the labyrinth, you will be at your home. Now, go. The clock's already started." He waved his hand again, and a clock with thirteen numbers appeared above his throne. The second hand was moving steadily in a circle, and Ginny didn't need any more motivation to turn on her heel and run.

The large metal door she had heard led directly into the labyrinth, and she sprinted as fast as her short legs could carry her. She was small, but she had grown up with enough older brothers – and the right sorts of older brothers – that she had gotten good at running and knew she could last for quite a while. She raced through the twists and turns, looking for any clue as to the way out. Everything looked the same, though, and by the time she reached the third dead end, she was starting to get frustrated.

There had to be a way out, though. In all of Bill's stories, the Goblin King kept his promises. If he didn't, the world would probably be destroyed or something; Bill had never been entirely clear on how that sort of magic worked. In any case, she knew there would be a way out, and that she had thirteen hours to find it. What she didn't know was how much longer she still had.

As though in answer to the question she hadn't bothered to ask, around the next corner, she spotted a clock. Half an hour had passed, and she had no idea whether she was any closer to the end of the labyrinth. With a sigh, she ran on, hunting for an exit.

There was nothing. No matter where she turned, she found only the same brown stone walls, the same twists and turns. For all she knew, she was running in circles and wouldn't realize that until the thirteen hours were up and the goblins came to collect her. Or maybe the Goblin King himself would appear to carry her back to his castle, and there would be no second chance to escape. She had basically agreed to that, and if he couldn't back out of his agreements, then neither could she. They were bound by the same magic.

She had twelve and a half hours left, and she was already getting tired.

With an angry shriek, she stamped her foot on the ground and jumped when a stone a few feet in front of her flipped up, revealing a strange little figure. It looked almost like a goblin, but there was something strangely human about its face. Perhaps it was the fact that its ears were smaller than the other goblins, or perhaps that its eyes were wide and frightened rather than menacing. The goblin-boy stared at her for a moment, then asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to get out," Ginny said, "only I don't know how to escape the labyrinth." The goblin-boy only stared at her in response, so she added, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm hiding," he replied brightly. "The Goblin King tried to make me into one of his goblins, but I ran away and hid before he was done. I don't think I can go back home, though." His face fell for a moment but then lit up in a brilliant smile. "Do you want my help? I think I can find a way out."

The Goblin King hadn't said anything about whether she was allowed to have help, and the characters in Bill's stories always had someone help them, so Ginny nodded. "Will I have to go underground?" she asked.

"Yeah," the boy said, and his face fell again, but Ginny ran eagerly to the tunnel and started to climb in. This was going to be the best adventure ever, and she already had a friend.


	2. Cold Comfort

The inside of the tunnel was dark and dusty, but not for long. Only a few seconds after the roof closed over their heads, the goblin-boy lit a torch, filling the tunnel with flickering light and strangely moving shadows. It didn't do anything to get rid of the dust, but Ginny supposed she couldn't be too picky about these sorts of things. Mum wouldn't get too angry about her having dust on her dress, anyway, or at least not any angrier than when she came home covered in dirt and bits of grass. She could just magic it all away, after all. That was what Mums did.

"So what's your name?" Ginny asked as the goblin-boy led her down the tunnel. "I have to have something to call you, you know, unless you want to just be 'goblin-boy'."

"I'm not a goblin," the boy said.

"Well, I can't call you 'boy'," Ginny said, setting her hands on her hips. The boy was facing away from her, so he didn't get the full effect of her anger, but she was sure he could tell from her voice. She'd gotten quite good at having an angry voice, though she did get most of it from listening to Mum lecture the twins.

"You don't have to call me anything," the boy said. "It's just the two of us. We don't have to use names."

He was right, but Ginny wasn't about to back down now that she had a good argument going. The boy, whoever he was, could be as stubborn as Ron, and she decided right then that she didn't like him one bit. "Well, I can't just think of you as 'boy', then," she said. "It feels weird."

"Fine," the boy said bitterly. "My name's Cassidy."

Ginny couldn't help laughing a little, even though the boy grumbled at the sound. "That's a girl's name," she said. "Is it your real name?"

"My full name's Cassidy Smith," he said, and she thought he might turn around and start yelling at her. Instead, he just kept walking, leading her down twists and turns and through halls so narrow that she could feel the walls scraping against her arms. "What's your name, then? It's only fair that I should get to know what yours is if you know mine."

"I'm Ginny Weasley."

Cassidy got a chance to laugh then. "That's just as strange as my name," he said. "At least I'm not named after a weasel. What's Ginny short for? Virginia?"

"Ginevra," she said, deciding that she liked this boy even less than she liked Ron, and considering Ron was the reason she was stuck here, that meant she disliked him very strongly. "And if you make fun of my name again, I'll punch you."

"If you do that, you'll never get out," Cassidy said. "I'll run off, and you'll be left here forever. You'll never find your way out." He did lower his voice before muttering, "That's not even a real name."

Ginny decided to pay him no mind. It was what Mum always told her to do when her older brothers were bothering her, and even if it didn't work with them as often as it was supposed to, she hoped it would work with Cassidy. For a while, it did. She was able to march proudly behind him, chin high and arms crossed. Even if he couldn't see her, she was sure he could feel her stony silence and was properly mortified by how he had treated her.

Walking in proud silence got boring very quickly, though, and before long Ginny's arms swung by her sides and her chin was back to its normal place. It was far more interesting to look around at the tunnels Cassidy lived in, and if she hadn't been so intent on keeping up with him, she would have been perfectly happy to explore. He didn't look likely to stop, though, not even for a chance to look down a side tunnel or read what looked like a dust-covered inscription, so she had to run along behind him and do her best to stay close, so he wouldn't vanish with the torch. However proud she was willing to act, she didn't want him to leave her alone in the dark.

At least she wasn't afraid of spiders. Then she would have been terrified of being stuck there alone.

"How did you wind up here, anyway?" she asked after looking around also began to grow boring. If there was nothing else to do but talk, then she wanted to talk.

"Why do you care?" Cassidy asked.

Ginny hadn't expected him to be rude again, but then she supposed that he hadn't been thinking about things the same way she had. He hadn't had a chance to really stop being angry with her. It was another way he was just like Ron: she didn't know anyone who could hold a grudge longer than her brother, unless it was Percy. But then, he was her brother too, so she supposed they might as well count as the same in this case. "I'm sorry I made fun of your name," she said, hoping an apology would be enough. "Cassidy's a nice name, and I bet it was a boy's name once." Old names could be strange like that, particularly old Muggle names. Maybe he had been a Muggle from years ago and just hadn't grown any older.

"You didn't answer my question," Cassidy said, but he didn't sound as angry as he had before. He didn't sound particularly friendly, either, but at least not being angry was a good start. They could become proper friends later.

"I thought you were angry at me for what I said about your name," she said. "That's why you weren't talking." When he didn't respond, she went on, "You should be nicer to me, you know. I didn't even make you apologize for making fun of my name. I didn't even hit you when you did it. I would have hit one of my brothers if they'd made fun of me." Of course, being so young, she didn't have much else to do, and it wasn't as though they could hit her back.

"You're a very strange girl," Cassidy said, and now he sounded as though he wanted to laugh. "Where do you come from?"

"Ottery St. Catchpole," Ginny said brightly. She loved the name of the little town near the Burrow; it sounded so much more interesting than just plain London, even if London was a large city.

"Really?" Cassidy sounded eager now. "Which part? Are you a witch?"

He wasn't a Muggle, then. Well, that was one question answered. "I haven't gone to Hogwarts yet," Ginny said, "but my whole family's magical." Well, there was that one second cousin somewhere, but no one talked about him. "What about you? Are you a wizard?"

"I would have been. If my sister hadn't wished me over to the goblins, then I would have gone to Hogwarts. Instead I'm stuck here." He sighed and led her down another turn. "I've managed to live under the labyrinth for a long time, so long I've lost count of the years, but it's a pretty cold comfort to know that I won't be able to get out and return to my old life. For all I know, my sister's dead by now."

If it had been long enough that Cassidy was still a girl's name, then Ginny agreed, but she wasn't about to say that. She didn't want to make him feel worse than he already did, and she knew that if she'd been trapped under a labyrinth for years, she wouldn't want to hear that Charlie or Bill had died while she was gone. Since she was going to have a chance to get out, though, she realized there was something she could do for the boy to pay him back for helping her. "What's your sister's name?" she asked. "Maybe I could find her and tell her what happened to you?" Maybe she could also avenge him, though she wasn't entirely sure about how to go through with revenge. The most she'd ever done was sneaking spiders into Ron's room after he made her particularly angry.

"You're going to make fun of her name, aren't you?" Cassidy asked.

"No, I'm not," Ginny said quickly. "Honest. I'll even cross my heart and pinky swear if you want." Fred and George had impressed on her that both of these were nearly as strong as an Unbreakable Vow, and she wouldn't dream of letting Cassidy down. She couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him, and she never had a chance to feel sorry for anyone.

"Hepzibah," Cassidy said after a moment. "Her name's Hepzibah Smith. I don't think she's worried about what happened to me, though. She never liked me much."

"Then I'll avenge you," Ginny said eagerly. Vengeance sounded even more fun than sending a message, and she very badly wanted to do something fun. She could be like a knight in shining armor, although those weren't much for vengeance unless it was righteous. Well, what could be more righteous than this?

Cassidy laughed a little. "I'd like that."

"Good," Ginny said. The halls had widened a little, and she strode up to his side, or as close as she could get. The torch smelled strange, but she supposed there wasn't much of anything she could do about that aside from wrinkle her nose and try to avoid the smoke. "Do you know how long it'll take to get out of here?" she asked. "The Goblin King only gave me thirteen hours." She was still tired, too, but she didn't want to mention that. If Cassidy could keep going, then so could she.

"It won't take thirteen hours," he promised. "These tunnels cut right under the labyrinth. They seem like another maze, but really, they're pretty straightforward."

She supposed she would just have to take his word for it. Of course, taking his word for it meant that part of the conversation was over, and she wanted to know more. "How do you keep from getting lost?" she asked. "Is it just that you've been here for so long?"

Cassidy shook his head. "There aren't many ways to get lost down here. There aren't very many different halls. The one there is just turns a lot. You'd be able to find your way easily enough if you stayed long enough." He glanced at her, and in the strange light from the torch, he seemed almost shy. "Do you want to stay? I could show you everything there is to see."

"Sorry," Ginny said, though she wasn't sure why she felt the need to apologize. "I have to get home. My Mum will worry about me." Besides, she had to beat the Goblin King. Even if she managed to hide in the labyrinth and avoid becoming a goblin, she still would have lost the challenge, and she wasn't willing to lose.

"That's all right," Cassidy said, though his shoulders slumped. "I'll make sure you get home safely."

There was no way of telling time beneath the labyrinth. However many clocks there might have been in the maze itself, there were none below, and Ginny didn't think to ask why that was. Perhaps Cassidy just didn't need any clocks, since they might only remind him of how much time was passing. If the Goblin King's magic could affect them, then they might also be dangerous to have around if he still wanted to avoid turning completely into a goblin. Ginny wasn't sure that being halfway toward being a goblin was much better than being turned completely into one, but then, she'd never had to deal with being either. Perhaps it really was better, if only by a little.

They stopped to rest a few times, and Cassidy gave her food and water. When Ginny hesitated to eat it, he assured her that it wasn't cursed. "Eating goblin food won't turn you into a goblin," he said. "It's not like fairy food. You won't be trapped here forever if you eat it." Once she heard that, she tucked in, even though it was bland and flavorless. She was hungrier than she'd ever felt before, but the food did help to settle her stomach and make her feel stronger. She never needed to rest long before being ready to keep moving.

Hours passed, or at least Ginny assumed that hours had passed. She hadn't quite mastered the art of telling time without looking at a clock, but it certainly felt like hours. She was tired and annoyed, though not with Cassidy. She was annoyed with Ron, and with the Goblin King, and with her legs, but not with Cassidy. He was too nice for that, at least now that she had gotten to know him. If they'd managed to meet in Ottery St. Catchpole, she thought they might have been friends.

Then Cassidy pushed open another stone, and sunlight poured in. It couldn't have been very long if it was still day, particularly since it had been afternoon when Ron had wished her away. Ginny grinned, and Cassidy gave her a small smile and said, "We're here."

"Thank you!" she said eagerly, but when she climbed out, she found only more labyrinth. Her heart sank for a second, but then she whirled around to yell at Cassidy for tricking her. Then she saw that he had climbed out with her and settled the stone where it had been. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'll show you the way out," Cassidy said. His hands were empty now, and she supposed he must have left the torch inside. "I'd give you directions, but it can still be kind of tricky. It'll be easier if I lead you there." He held out his hand nervously, but when Ginny didn't take it, he let it fall to his side. "You've still got plenty of time, and the Goblin King won't find us. I promise."

Ginny decided that he wouldn't lead her so far only to turn against her, so she smiled and followed him through the twists and turns. However long he had been in the labyrinth, he knew it well, and before long they stood at the edge. Something shimmered slightly, and if Ginny looked at it just right, she could see green hills and the Burrow. Her smile spread even further, and on an impulse she kissed Cassidy's cheek. It didn't feel as weird to kiss a goblin as she had thought in the second before she did it, and when she pulled back, she saw that his face was bright pink.

"Good luck," he said quietly. "I'll miss you."

"Thanks for everything." Before something could go wrong, Ginny ran through the shimmering mist in front of the labyrinth's entrance and returned home.

* * *

Ron had wandered halfway to the town without finding Ginny, and it was nearly dinnertime, so he was forced to turn back. He felt sorry for what he had done, and if there had been any way for him to bring her back, he would have done it in an instant. Nothing came to mind, though, and he couldn't remember enough of Bill's stories to tell how the heroes had gone to meet the Goblin King and bring their siblings back. Maybe he would never see Ginny again.

That thought was enough to make him not want to go back, and not only because he knew he would be in more trouble than anyone else had that he could remember. Ginny was a brat, but he still liked her, and he already missed her. He couldn't give up, but he didn't know what else there was for him to do.

Ron was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't notice a red-haired girl nearly tackle him from the side. He stumbled, and his face lit up when he saw his sister standing next to him. "Ginny!" he gasped, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "You're okay! I was so worried about you."

She hit his arm, and he yelped, letting go of her. "I had to escape the labyrinth on my own," she said. "If Cassidy hadn't saved me, I might have been turned into a goblin."

"I'm sorry," Ron said, and it was the first time he had apologized to his little sister without being prompted to by one of his parents. "Who's Cassidy?" If Bill's stories had been right – as he was starting to suspect they were – then the labyrinth she had been swept off to was the same one that the Goblin King ruled over, but he couldn't remember anyone named Cassidy.

"He helped me," Ginny said. "I'm going to find his sister and avenge him. She's the one who sent him there," she added, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her anger from just a moment before was gone, and she turned to head to the Burrow, leaving Ron to trail after her. "Also, I get your desserts for a week, because saying 'sorry' isn't good enough."

He would have given her a month's worth of desserts if she'd asked. It was enough to have her back and know that he wouldn't get into any trouble. "Okay," he said. "Do you want me to help you find Cassidy's sister?"

Ginny shook her head. "I'm going to do it on my own. I'm the hero this time, Ron." She looked up at him and grinned. "You'd better not forget that. I can save myself now."

"Fine," Ron said, grinning back. "Don't expect me to come running to your rescue next time you're in trouble, then." If she wanted to save herself, then he would step back and let her. It wasn't as though she was going to get in more danger, though.


	3. Return to the Labyrinth

It's easy for children to forget, particularly when those children are young. Before long, Ginny had forgotten the name of the sister she was supposed to find, and soon she thought of her adventure in the labyrinth as little more than a story she had made up. Ron didn't recall it well either, though he would constantly insist that he had seen her vanish before his eyes. After a few days of being teased by Fred and George, he gave up on trying to tell his side of the story and simply watched his little sister bask in the glory of having Bill tell her she was a born storyteller and that he would remember her story to tell to whatever kids he would have in the future. Ginny was always the favorite, it seemed, and sometimes Ron was tempted to wish her away to the goblins again, though he never did. Even if no one else believed him, he knew what had happened that day.

Time passed, and Ron went off to Hogwarts. The next year, Ginny followed him, and she nearly died in a tunnel beneath the school. Ron vaguely remembered her insisting that she would save herself the next time she was in danger, but that thought vanished at once when he heard that she had gone missing and an ominous warning had been painted on the wall. The next year, fortunately, she was in no danger, and by the time she had joined Dumbledore's Army, both of them had completely forgotten about that day six years before.

There were moments that would spark Ginny's memory, though, particularly when she first met Zacharias Smith. His name sounded vaguely familiar, but then, she decided she had probably met a Zachary or a Smith or maybe even a Zachary Smith in Ottery St. Catchpole when she was younger and the name had just stuck with her. In any case, at the end of the year everyone knew that Voldemort had returned, and the next year she was distracted by Harry Potter finally falling in love with her, and she paid the name no mind. Then Dumbledore died, and Bill got married, and Ginny found herself returning to a Hogwarts filled with Death Eaters.

She didn't think about the labyrinth at all, or about a boy named Cassidy, for she was too busy trying to stay alive. In fact, until one winter day, the labyrinth was the last thing on her mind.

* * *

Ginny drew in a long, hissing breath, trying to ignore the pain in her side. One rib was broken, maybe two, and she wasn't sure she had the strength to try running back to the Room of Requirement from the first floor. Odovacar Cokes, a Slytherin sixth-year with the most ridiculous name Ginny had ever heard, had caught her off-guard while she was serving as a lookout for Neville. She had managed to draw Cokes away from Neville's work, but on the way had been hit by a jinx and tumbled down a flight of stairs. Her wand had flown out of her hand, and she had scrambled to safety behind a suit of armor. Now Cokes was coming after her, and if he got to her wand first, he would snap it, leaving her helpless. She couldn't just lunge out and grab it, though. She doubted she would be fast enough, and for all she knew, he was willing to use a Killing Curse.

"Where are you, Weasley?" Cokes called as he walked slowly down the hall. Ginny tried to shrink further back and winced at the pain. "Come on out, pretty girl. I won't hurt you."

Of course he wouldn't. The Killing Curse was silent. But then, perhaps he was only trying to draw her out and thought she was stupid enough to fall for that line. She gritted her teeth and stayed put. The only way he could get her to jump out would be if he had a hostage, and she knew very well he didn't. Her vantage point wasn't the best, but she could see very well that he was alone.

"Bitch," Cokes muttered, and Ginny grinned. Maybe she had a chance. Maybe he didn't know where she was hiding and had completely overlooked her wand. If he gave up now, then she would have a chance at making it out of this alive. But he was moving too slowly, and his gaze kept flicking from her wand to the walls, and even worse, to where she crouched. He knew where she was and was just waiting for a chance to make his move.

She would have to make one first.

The worst of it was that she had hoped they could trust him. He wasn't the worst sort – not nearly as bad as Malfoy's lot or other children of Death Eaters – and there were a good many Slytherins who were helping them. Edmund McEwan, another sixth-year, had joined them in the Room of Requirement, and there were even a few double agents, who stayed with the Slytherins but did whatever they could to help from their position of safety, like Estelle Sackville. It would have been so easy to assume that all Slytherins were evil, but Estelle would rather have died than betray them, and Edmund nearly had. They had to judge things based on one person at a time, and it seemed that Cokes had fallen in with the Death Eaters.

He was getting closer to her wand, and Ginny felt nearly out of her mind with anxiety. She couldn't let him snap her wand. There was no way for her to get a new one, not until Ollivander could return – if he ever returned – and without a wand the best she could do was punch Death Eaters, which wasn't nearly as effective as hexing them.

Still, brute force could be very effective, even if it was only one sixteen-year-old against another. With a snarl, Ginny launched herself out of her hiding place and attacked, beating at Cokes with her fists and kicking. If she had thought she could get away with it, she would have started biting him, but there wasn't time. As soon as he was off-balance and distracted, she dove for her wand, scraping her arms on the rough stone of the floor. Gasping with triumph, she rolled onto her side and pointed her wand at him only to find that he already had his trained on her.

"Got you," he gasped, and wiped some blood from his chin. Ginny felt a savage pleasure at knowing she had managed to hurt him, but it faded quickly at the thought that she would probably die soon. Harry might be heartbroken, and her family would be devastated, and when she thought about it even from the view of a stranger, it was sad. A sixteen-year-old girl would die in the middle of a school, and no one would be able to do anything about it. The best that could be done would be to move on.

She wasn't willing to move on. Even as Cokes grinned and moved his wand from her stomach to her heart, she looked around for anything that might give her a chance to escape. No one was coming to her rescue, but her eyes caught something in the wall that looked almost like a door. It was small, just large enough that she might be able to launch herself through it as long as it wasn't just a trick of the light. She would have to trust to her luck.

There wasn't any time to wait and have second thoughts. Before Cokes could say whatever curse he had been about to direct at her, she dove forward, pointing her wand at the possibly-door and shouting, "_Alohomora!"_

Cokes shouted something, but his voice was lost in the rush of air that suddenly surrounded Ginny. She couldn't help thinking that perhaps this hadn't been the best choice to make. After all, six years at Hogwarts should have gotten her used to the secret doors enough, and she hadn't recognized this way. It was too late, though, and she had already tumbled through. Beyond the door was nothing but darkness and hard stone floors, but they were different from the stone floors of Hogwarts. There was something familiar about them, though Ginny could barely recognize it. It was like a memory from half a lifetime ago.

Her wand was still safely in her hand, and she smiled to feel it secure there. As her consciousness faded, she thought she heard footsteps and saw a faint gleam of light, but before she could tell whether whoever was coming was friendly, pain flared in her side and then was gone again.

* * *

When Ginny woke, she was curled in a bed that was several inches too small for her. Her side hurt worse than ever, but then, everything else on her body hurt too. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and let everything fade away again and stay faded, but then she realized that there were two things that were very wrong. The first was that she was no longer in Hogwarts.

The second was that her wand was gone.

The second was by far the easier to remedy. As soon as the realization hit her, her eyes snapped open, and the first thing she saw was her wand, lying on a little table. More eager to have it back than she had been for anything else in a long time, she lunged out of bed and grabbed it, heedless of the pain it caused her. As soon as it was in her hand again she felt better, and with a sigh, she sat down on the bed. She was still lost and in pain, but at least she could still do magic. Now that she had that problem fixed, she could move on to figuring out where she was.

She wasn't sure how she knew that she wasn't in Hogwarts anymore. It was just a nagging feeling that pressed against the back of her mind, and she was sure that she could trust it. It was instinct, after all, and she doubted her instinct would lead her wrong, even if she didn't know where it came from.

The first thing to do, she decided once the pain in her head had faded, was to move around and explore a little. There was enough light for her to see her surroundings, and when she rose to inspect the walls, she saw some kind of glowing plant that looked a lot like moss. It didn't look harmful, but she was careful not to touch it in any case. In a strange place, it was best to be cautious, at least until she could figure out how safe anything was.

Her first thought had been that she was lying in a room, but now that she was on her feet, she saw that the bed and table were in a very long hall that curved away to the sides as though she were in a large circle.

Or a labyrinth.

The thought came out of nowhere, and she dismissed it at once. There couldn't be a labyrinth inside Hogwarts. The school was big, but not that big, and someone would have found it by now and started talking about it. Fred and George had gone over the school dozens of times, and they hadn't told her anything about a labyrinth.

But then, she wasn't in the school anymore. She was somewhere completely different.

A shiver ran down Ginny's spine, and she turned in a slow circle, looking around for any sign of where she could be. There was nothing apparent, so she set off down the hall, holding her wand at the ready. Her side still felt like something was stabbing it, and her body ached all over, but she was determined to figure out what was going on. She supposed she ought to feel like a child, but she didn't. Her jaw was set, and if anything, she felt more like an adult now than she ever had before. She could do anything she needed to, and that certainly included getting home.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any obvious way for her to get home. The hall – or tunnel, she supposed, since it was made of the same material everywhere and might well be underground – went on without change for what felt like ages. The only landmarks had been the bed and table, and by the time her legs grew tired, those were long behind her. She hadn't come across them again, and as she paused to stretch her calves, she wondered just how large this place was. If it weren't for the visible curve on the wall, she would have thought it might take her days to find her way around, but it still might, and she didn't have any source of food or water. She certainly wasn't about to start eating the moss.

She set her wand on the palm of her hand. "_Point me._" She didn't know that finding north would help her much, but it was better than nothing, which was what she had now. Her wand spun rapidly in her hand, but when it continued to spin after a full minute, she decided that it wasn't going to be any use and closed her hand around it, stopping the motion.

There had to be something very strong here to keep her wand from finding north. Whatever it was, she had to find it. She also had to get back to Hogwarts, but her curiosity had been piqued, and she pushed on, moving at a faster walk.

This place felt familiar. She couldn't deny that, but she couldn't think of how she knew what it felt like. It felt like it came from half a lifetime ago, just as the stones had felt before she passed out.

A memory hovered at the edge of her thoughts, but it was gone before she could understand where it had come from. The best she could do was to push on and hope she could solve this mystery before she was gone for too long. The DA needed her, and she didn't want her family to think she had died. Things were tense enough without everyone assuming the youngest Weasley had been killed, and for all she knew, Harry would decide to do something stupid and noble to avenge her. She loved him, but he could be something of an idiot from time to time.

The path continued as it had been before, but Ginny soon found a door set into the wall. It was well-hidden enough that she nearly passed it by, but as soon as she recognized that the hollow in the wall would lead somewhere, she doubled back to investigate. The door led to some stairs, and she took them two at a time.

There was more of the glowing moss along the walls, so she didn't have to test whether a wand-lighting charm would work or would fail as badly as the four-point spell had. Before too long, though, she didn't even need the moss to see where she was going. Natural sunlight reached the stairs, filtered by dust, and when Ginny looked up, she saw windows set high against the walls. She knew that sunlight from somewhere, but it only stirred distant memories of determination.

The stairs brought her to a long hall, and after looking to either side and finding it empty, she decided arbitrarily to go right. The stone here seemed different from the stone in the tunnel below, and the floor had hay scattered across it. Somehow she knew she was in a castle, and it was a very different castle from Hogwarts. This place, wherever it was, had none of the joy of her home. It felt like an old place, one that should have been abandoned long ago but was kept alive by creatures that should have long since faded into dust. It was the sort of castle that belonged to old stories and should have existed only in memories.

And she knew this place.

Ginny couldn't shake that sensation, and she set off down the hall at a run, ignoring the pain in her side. Madame Pomfrey would be able to set it right when she got back to Hogwarts. There were always chances to sneak to the Hospital Wing, and even if there weren't, Neville would know something to help. Hannah Abbot might be able to do something too; she was turning out to be an excellent battlefield nurse.

Even thoughts of Hogwarts couldn't get rid of the thought that she was somewhere terribly familiar. She had come this way before, though it had seemed much larger and more frightening then. Years ago, perhaps, in a dream she had found herself here, and now she was sleeping again. Or perhaps now she was awake and could recall what she should have always known.

The hall led her to a large room, and inside she saw several small creatures, each no larger than a child. Somehow she knew they were goblins, though they were nothing like the goblins she had seen in Gringotts. But her gaze traveled past them to a throne at the far end of the room, where a long-legged man sat, turning three crystal spheres in a circle in his hand. He smiled when he saw her and got to his feet, and Ginny somehow knew that they had met before, and perhaps they would meet again, and each time they would find themselves in opposition.

"Ginny Weasley," he said, setting the spheres on his throne. "It's been a long time, dear girl, but I always knew you would come back. You may have tricked me once, but you have always belonged in the labyrinth."


	4. Surprise from the Past

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ginny asked, raising her wand. She didn't know whether it would work, but then, neither did the man, whether he was a king or not. Before she could wonder how she knew that he was a king, he took another step forward, and she pointed her wand straight at his chest. "Don't come any closer."

The Goblin King smiled and stopped, though he didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that she was threatening him. Instead, he seemed almost amused, and that made Ginny want to hex him even more. Only the knowledge that she might lose her bluff kept her from doing so. "You've grown a great deal, haven't you, little Ginny?" he asked. "Not so little anymore, I suppose. Tell me, how long has it been for you? Seven years? You're fifteen years old, aren't you?"

"Sixteen," she snapped. "And what do you care? I've never been here before. You don't know anything about me."

"On the contrary. I know that you're a very determined girl – though I suppose you're a young woman now – and that you're very strong-minded. I also know that you had help escaping me all that time ago." He turned and walked back to his throne, and Ginny let him, though she tightened her grip on her wand. Surely there had to be some spell that would work, just in case.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny said. Her side hurt and she was tired and hungry, but that only made her angrier. Whoever this Goblin King was, he was likely the reason she couldn't head to the Room of Requirement and get a nice hot meal and a long nap, and she would get past him if she had to break his nose. She would break anything she had to if it meant escaping this place, though possibly also because she wanted to get rid of that infuriating smile on his face. She didn't like him one bit, she decided, and she would continue to dislike him until she was well away.

"Is that so?" The Goblin King raised one of his eyebrows and made a quick gesture toward the goblins on the floor, some of whom scurried away. "I suppose it has been a long time for you, possibly longer than it has been for me. But then, time in your world has always flowed strangely."

"Says the man with a thirteen-hour clock," Ginny snapped, and as she spoke, her gaze darted up to the clock above his throne. It did indeed have thirteen hours, but she had known that even before she saw that there was a clock there, and the fact that she didn't understand where the knowledge had come from frightened her. She refused to show it, though, so she kept her wand pointed directly at his heart.

"So you do remember some things. Excellent." The Goblin King smiled, and a moment later, the goblins returned, holding someone tightly in their grasp. He was a boy, yet not quite a boy; a goblin yet not quite a goblin. He seemed to exist somewhere between, and if she'd had to guess, Ginny would have put his age at about eight or nine. He couldn't possibly be any older than ten, and yet she imagined he had been alive for longer than ten years. He looked terrified, and when he spotted her, his eyes grew wide with shock.

"Ginny!" he cried eagerly, and tried to wriggle away from the goblins who held him. "You came back for me! Did you find Hepzibah? Did you avenge me?"

Hepzibah had to be one of the oddest names Ginny had ever heard, and though she was sure she ought to remember where she had heard it before, she couldn't quite place it. Instead, her gaze returned to the Goblin King. "What's going on? Who is this boy?"

The Goblin King smirked. "You really don't remember, do you? Such a pity. Young Cassidy was so looking forward to seeing you again. It was all he could talk about after we caught him. 'Ginny's going to save me. You won't last long after Ginny comes back here.' It was pathetic, really, but he kept reminding me of you. The one girl to come into my clutches by the words of someone else and yet escape of her own free will. I grew curious." The Goblin King rose, and Ginny's hand tightened even more around her wand, so much that her palm and fingers hurt. "I couldn't get you out of my mind. The little red-haired girl who bested me. The _child_ who managed to escape. So I began setting doors in your path, waiting for you to return, for I knew you would return."

He took a step forward, and Ginny couldn't hold back her shout. "_Stupefy!"_ she cried, and a jet of red light burst from her wand. Instead of reaching the Goblin King, however, it exploded like one of her brothers' fireworks barely a foot from her face, and in the time it took her to blink away the glare from the blinding light, the Goblin King had crossed the room and grabbed both her wrists, angling her wand to the floor.

"Such a determined girl," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "You've only grown more so through the years. You've grown beautiful, too. I can see why Cassidy was so fond of you. If you can capture the heart of a boy as a child, imagine what you could do to a man. Even a king would fall to his knees before your beauty."

Ginny's heart pounded in her chest, but she wasn't willing to back down now, even if her wand and her fists were useless. "Let me go!" she yelled, and drove her forehead up, trying to hit his nose. She missed and clipped his chin, and though the blow hurt her likely more than it hurt him, she still lashed out with her feet, kicking at his shins and trying to drive her knee between his legs. Charlie had taught her that when she was younger, along with how to wrestle a young dragon to the ground without hurting it. She hadn't thought she would ever need to know either, but as the Goblin King recoiled from her attack, she decided she was glad her brother had taught her Muggle fighting.

It still wasn't enough for her to have a chance to escape. "Grab her!" the Goblin King called, and before long her legs had been bound by some of the goblins. They pulled her to the floor and bound her wrists as well, and when she tried to bite their hands, they stuffed rags into her mouth hard enough that she nearly gagged. None of them could pry her wand from her fingers, but that was only a small comfort, since she doubted it would be any use to her at all.

The Goblin King set a foot on her shoulder and rolled her onto her back almost gently. Ginny glared up at him and tried to shout curses at him past the rags, but he only smiled and shook his head.

"Dear child," he said. "You really have no idea what you're facing, do you? I am a king, with armies at my command. You're only a lost girl. That's all you ever were." He knelt beside her and gripped her chin in his fingers. "But you needn't be that. I can see a fire burning in your heart. With the right fuel, you could be the most powerful woman in the world. Join me as my queen, and I will teach you how to rule."

Ginny wrenched her chin from his hand and shook her head. The Goblin King's face twisted in fury, but soon the expression became a smile again, and he stroked her cheek so slowly that shivers ran up Ginny's spine.

"Very well," he said. "I will give you two gifts, then. You will have a chance to escape my labyrinth once more, but this time no one will help you on the pain of death. If you can escape on your own, then you will be free forever. I will not try to trap you again." He made a sharp gesture, and the goblins lifted her from the floor. "The second is my name. I know yours, and if we are to be the equals I wish us to be, then you ought to know mine. I am called Jareth."

Then the goblins carried Ginny away. There were too many of them for her to fight, and after a few minutes of fruitless struggling, she gave up and went limp. Even that didn't get them to release her, and after a long walk through halls and down stairs, they threw her into a cell. Her body hit the floor hard enough to hurt her side again, and she cried out in pain as she rolled onto her face. The stone had scraped her skin, and for an anxious moment she thought that her wand had snapped under her. Even if it was useless here, there was still a chance that she would make it back to Hogwarts, and she would need all the magic she could get there if she was going to help.

But she didn't even know if she would make it back.

A sob got caught in her throat, and Ginny only barely managed to keep herself from crying. Even if she was alone, she wasn't going to cry. She wasn't a damsel in distress. Something in her reminded her that she had decided to save herself the next time she was in trouble. Well, she had been saving herself all year; this was just another chance for her to be the knight in shining armor.

That thought felt familiar as well, though she couldn't place from where. It was as though there had been someone else in the back of her mind, someone waiting to be remembered just at that moment. She knew this place, and she had known the Goblin King. She had even known Cassidy, and she knew the name Hepzibah. If they really did come from half a lifetime ago, then that meant she knew them from her childhood, from before she had even come to Hogwarts. She didn't remember much of that time, though she did know that she and Ron fought more often, and that Bill had liked to tell stories of a Goblin King and children who were stolen away to his labyrinth and had to be rescued by their older siblings.

It was impossible, and yet as she lay with errant tears dripping off her nose and onto the stone, she thought she could remember a fight with Ron, and him shouting a few words without considering what might come after.

_"I wish the goblins would come and take you away!"_

Ginny sniffled and squirmed, trying to sit up. After a few moments of effort, she managed to get up off the floor and press her back against the wall. She couldn't exactly deny that her scenario was possible; she was in it now, and that proved its possibility. What she had to worry about now was making it out, and doing it without any help. If she could trust Jareth – and somehow she knew that he wouldn't lie – Cassidy had helped her the time before, and that had only gotten him into trouble. She couldn't let anyone risk themselves for her this time. She was a Gryffindor, and more than that, she was a Weasley. She could defend herself perfectly well.

Besides, the magic of this place wouldn't allow her to leave if she had any help. She didn't know how she knew that, but it felt like the truth. Well, if she had to get out on her own, she could do that just fine. After all, she had managed to survive being possessed by Voldemort when she was only eleven. Getting out of a labyrinth could hardly be worse than that.

Though she wouldn't have minded having Hermione around to help her. Hermione, or a Ravenclaw, or anyone who had gone through mazes before. Even Harry might be helpful, since he had gone through that maze during the Triwizard Tournament in her third year.

On a second thought, she decided she didn't want to have Harry around. He might only get himself into trouble trying to save her. Much as she loved him, she knew he tended not to think ahead when he had to be a hero. If she was going to get out, it would be on her own, and then she could tell the story to her family later on. Bill would love it, and she had no doubt the twins would as well.

The ropes around her wrists were too tight for her to wriggle out of them, and she couldn't angle her wand so it would poke through them and untie the knot. She could get it to tap against the knot, but it wouldn't slip through the ropes, and she bit back several curses while trying. The rope scraped against her wrist, and she knew that her skin would be rubbed raw and red from struggling. The only good that might come of continuing to try would be if she could get her arms slick enough with blood to slide the ropes over her hands, but she doubted her hands were small enough to allow that, and she didn't have any way to treat her wounds. The only option she could think of was likely impossible, but she didn't have any other choice.

With a sigh, Ginny tapped her wand against the knot and said through her gag, "_Alohomora_." She didn't think there was any chance it would work – she tried more because she had no other idea what to do – and was amazed when the ropes fell apart around her. With a grin, she pulled the rags out of her mouth and cast the same spell on the ropes around her ankles. They didn't fall off so much as they disintegrated, but that was good enough for her, and she sprang to her feet.

It was time to get the hell out of the labyrinth.

The door to the cell was locked when she tried it, and she hadn't really expected it to be otherwise. Still smiling, she pressed her wand against the lock and said, "_Alohomora." _The door didn't open, but there wasn't enough time for her to be disappointed. It flew off its hinges and crashed into the far wall with a satisfying _bang_, and before the dust had settled, she sprang out of the cell and raced down the hall, looking for any way out that she could find. If possible, she decided, she would avoid using magic, but only because she didn't know what to expect from her spells. If there came a need for her to cast a spell, she would, without hesitation.

The halls she ran through were empty, which was something of a relief, since Ginny didn't want to try to fight off a bunch of goblins. They looked nearly harmless, but in enough numbers she was sure they could overpower her, and she didn't want them to take away her wand. Without that, she was helpless.

As she ran, she realized just how melancholy the castle felt. There was something wrong about it, but it wasn't anything she could put into words. It only troubled her mind, leaving nagging doubts in the back of her thoughts. She had to get out as soon as she could, but at the same time, she wanted to linger and see whether there was anything she could do to get rid of the wrongness. The castle wasn't meant to be wrong, and perhaps it only needed her hand to set it right.

She dismissed the thought as soon as it occurred to her. She couldn't stay, and anything that tried to convince her otherwise was only a trick that Jareth would try to use to keep her there. She couldn't trust him, and she couldn't trust anything about this place except her own desire to get out. That was the one thing she knew to be true.

The hall led her to a larger hall, and that one to another still larger, and she soon found herself in a courtyard surrounded by a wall. Ginny continued to run, and she swung her wand at the iron gate set into the wall. _"Alohomora!"_ she cried, and the gate flew open, both sides twisting and cracking so they were nearly unrecognizable and certainly unusable. With a wild laugh, she entered the labyrinth.

From there on, she knew, she was on her own. No one could be allowed to help her, and even if they offered, she wasn't sure if she could trust them. Cassidy was trustworthy, almost certainly, but that trust might only get him into trouble, and she couldn't let him do that, not even for her. He was a only a boy, after all, no matter how long he had been trapped here.

She remembered him. That, more than anything else, surprised her, and she slowed to a quick walk as she passed through the stone twists and turns. She remembered Cassidy, and she remembered this place. As clearly as if it had been yesterday, she remembered being eight years old and finding herself in Jareth's castle.

Now she knew for certain she had done it once, and this time she was eight years older and eight years cleverer, and she had magic on her side. Nothing would keep her from getting out of this labyrinth.

And if anything tried, it would face the rage of a girl who had been raised by Molly Weasley, and it would know fear.


	5. Escape

The labyrinth was different from the way Ginny remembered it. She recalled an empty place full of twists and turns that all looked the same, and though it hadn't changed much in the essentials, it was no longer empty. Every time she took a turn, she found someone there, watching her, and she always turned to find somewhere else to go. She couldn't tell who she could trust or who was there because Jareth wanted her watched. Even if there were trustworthy people there, she didn't want to trust them, because it would break whatever magic would allow her to escape. She wasn't concerned for their safety – except in the case of Cassidy – but she wanted badly to get out without needing anyone's help.

It wasn't only about the way the spell would work anymore. It was a matter of pride. She didn't need anyone's help to escape; she could do perfectly well on her own. She was a Weasley, after all, and a Gryffindor. She didn't need help to find her way out of a labyrinth.

So she ignored whoever she came across, from the goblins to the creatures that were stranger still. She ran past them so quickly that she didn't see much of them, aside from how unfamiliar they were. There were some that reminded her of stoats that had learned to walk on their hind legs, and others that were more like a cross between elephants and centipedes. She once thought she saw a fox strolling about like a little man, and there were still more that had no analogue at all in the world she knew.

And they were all talking. That was possibly the strangest part. Even though she couldn't always understand the words that came out of their mouths, she could tell that they were speaking, and she was sure they were talking about her. It was entirely possible that she was only imagining things and had grown paranoid from the attention Jareth had paid to her, but then she caught snippets of conversation as she ran past.

"Well, I heard she was going to dethrone him and become the Goblin Queen."

"Hair like fire! She can probably burn things with her mind."

"There she goes now!"

How had they heard about her so quickly? It was as though word of mouth could travel faster than it ought to be possible, and as Ginny skidded around a corner, her robes flapping about her ankles, she wondered whether there might be little gossiping insects that flew around and told everyone the news. It wasn't the most unlikely possibility, and she had seen something like that before, or at least heard about it. The name Rita Skeeter was familiar enough to her that she knew something like that was possible, at least with the magic she was familiar with.

But magic was different here. Her wand didn't work properly – it was a wonder it worked at all – and she suspected if she were an Animagus and tried to transform into any sort of animal it would fail just as much as casting a spell had. Being a Metamorphmagus would probably be even worse.

She kept her wand out anyway. Even if it didn't work as she expected, it still worked in a way, and that was good enough for her. Besides, it could be useful for poking people if they got too close.

But no one did. They watched her pass and talked about her enough to make her wonder how much they had heard, but no one even tried to approach her. Most got out of her way as she ran past them, and since her shaking legs sent her careening from wall to wall, they had to move quickly to avoid her. She heard a few curses thrown after her, but for the most part she ignored them. Soon enough she wouldn't have to see them again, and they wouldn't have to see her. She could be gone from this place forever.

The thought gave her a sudden burst of strength, but then she slowed again and looked over her shoulder, breathing hard. She couldn't trace the path she had followed, but she could still see Jareth's tower looming over the rest of the labyrinth, seeming almost to remind her that she was on her own and couldn't rely on anyone's help at all.

She couldn't rely on anyone's help, not as she had the time before. Cassidy had saved her then, and if it hadn't been for him, she would have been turned into a goblin and kept in the labyrinth forever. She had promised to avenge him, but she hadn't kept that promise. Instead, she had forgotten about him and his sister until not long ago, and even now she didn't remember everything about their encounter.

And how was she supposed to? She had been a child then, and children's memories were weak. She couldn't even remember everything about her first year at Hogwarts, and that should have been remarkably memorable, even with the fact that she had spent a fair part of it possessed and almost literally out of her mind. The promise of a child was even more worthless. She hadn't even properly known what she was promising, and if she'd had the chance now, she wouldn't have promised to avenge some boy by attacking a woman whose name she had never heard of and who might not even be alive anymore. If a child had made that promise to her, she wouldn't have held them to it.

But Cassidy was a child as well. He might not realize that she couldn't be expected to keep something like that after half a lifetime, and he might resent her for abandoning him. Her chest ached, and not just from her broken ribs, but she turned away and continued her walk out of the labyrinth. Jareth hadn't given her a specific time limit, but she still wanted to get out as soon as possible. She had to get back to Hogwarts and save everyone.

She turned and continued on her way, walking more steadily now, though only through sheer force of will. She was tired and hungry, and if she hadn't suspected that asking for food or a safe place to sleep might constitute accepting help, she would have done both. Instead, she had to keep moving.

The labyrinth wasn't only different in how populated it was, though that alone was a little unnerving, as it reminded her of a small city instead of the wreck she had taken it to be and the wreck it had felt like from within the castle. Rather than feeling like something that deserved to be abandoned, it felt alive, and Ginny felt distinctly out of place. She didn't belong here, simply by virtue of being human. Everyone else was something strange and likely native to whatever world this was on, aside from the goblins. If Bill's stories were right, then they had all once been human children.

She could hardly doubt Bill's stories now, even with their little inconsistencies. Those had bothered her when she was younger, but now that she wound her own way through the labyrinth, she realized that the little details hadn't changed because Bill wasn't good at remembering them; they had changed because the labyrinth itself changed.

Maybe Bill had come here once, long ago. She would have to ask him sometime.

Until she got back, she would have to keep moving, though it was difficult to find her way. She had gone underground before, but even if she hadn't, she doubted she would have been able to retrace her steps. The inside of the labyrinth was no longer a flat plane with a maze laid on top of it. Now it had stairs, and doorways that seemed to lead into vast forests, and once she even crossed a narrow footbridge over a river that looked strong enough to whisk her away if she fell in. She made her way across as cautiously as she could, and when she was on the other side, she looked over her shoulder again.

The castle looked just as close as it had been the last time she had checked, and Ginny muttered an angry curse. She wasn't getting anywhere, and she didn't know the first way to get out. She was being too careful, and no one in Bill's stories had escaped by being careful. They had taken risks, and so would she.

The first chance she had, Ginny went through one of the doors. She didn't even check to see where it would lead her. It had to be better than wandering through the labyrinth, and even if it didn't get her closer to the exit, she would have done something.

The door took her into a swamp, and Ginny pushed through it without hesitation, not minding that the hem of her robe was soon soaked through and her second-hand shoes let in water easily. The whole place was hot and smelled like rotting vegetation, and tiny insects buzzed around her head, dodging her every attempt to swat them away. She was dressed for winter at Hogwarts, in a thick robe over that year's Weasley sweater and the thickest clothes she had been able to find. What had been perfect for the drafty halls of the castle was useless for a tropical swamp, though, and Ginny soon felt weighed down by her clothes and soaked with sweat. She wouldn't abandon anything, though; when she got back to Hogwarts, she would need them as much as ever.

As soon as she saw a chance to rest, she stopped, climbing up a tree and sitting on a low-hanging branch to catch her breath. Nothing about the swamp looked like a maze, and she wondered what the point was of having it there, unless Jareth was only using it to laugh at her. From that annoying smirk he had, she wouldn't put it past him, and she wished she could have settled everything with a fight, if only so she could give him a black eye or see if the Bat-Bogey Hex would work here.

"Hello!"

The sudden voice nearly made Ginny fall off the branch, and she only saved herself by digging her fingers into the thick moss on the tree trunk. Her fingernails came away caked in green, but she didn't much care. She would have to take a bath anyway as soon as she got back, so she would end up washing her hands, and she was too tired to care about the state of her fingernails. "Who's there?" she called, pointing her wand up into the branches.

"I am," the voice said, and something that looked like a cross between an old man and a cat leaned out of the tree, hanging onto a branch with his knees. "And who are you, little lost girl? You are lost, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, not daring to point her wand away. "But I don't want your help."

"Really?" The old man swung down and landed on the root beside her, crouching just like a cat would and looking at her with eyes that seemed to be mostly iris with only faint lines for pupils. "Proud, are you? I like that. My fifth cousin's a proud girl, and she's the best of all the family. Was the best, rather. She got in a fight and bled to death because she wouldn't ask for help. Over there, it was." He pointed to a stump that was just barely above the water level. "They say that if you look in the right light, you can still see the stains from where I dragged her body away."

"Who says?" Ginny asked. She couldn't tell whether she ought to be intrigued or terrified and settled for a combination that left her feeling mildly nauseated.

"I say," the man said, and his grin revealed brown-stained pointed teeth. "Do I look like a liar, lost girl?"

Ginny decided it would be safer not to answer and instead slipped down from the branch. Water splashed up around her knees, and she made a face at the algae clinging to her robe. It would come out eventually, she was sure, but she was still sick of it. "I really don't care," she said. "I just want to get out of the labyrinth."

"Out?" The man jumped down beside her, not seeming to mind the water landing on his matted fur. "I can help with that!"

"No!" Ginny gasped, and pointed her wand at him at once. "I told you, I don't want your help. Go back up in your tree and leave me alone." She wouldn't really hex him if he didn't, but she would brandish her wand until he went away. It wasn't even just from not being able to accept help. He was also really starting to annoy her, and she was in no mood to be patient with any annoyance.

The man's ears flattened against his head, and he hissed. "What's got you so riled, proud girl?" he asked. "Won't even accept help from an old man who wants nothing in return but a bit of company? I wouldn't even ask you for a kiss in exchange."

"Good, because you wouldn't get one." Ginny gestured with her wand to the branches. "Now, move. I have to get out of here, and I can't have anyone's help, not even yours."

"Can't?" The man's ears perked up again, and he slinked a circle around her, grinning. "Well, that changes things, doesn't it? Not don't want this time, but can't." He drew closer, and Ginny shrank away until her back was pressed against the tree. "Why can't, lost girl? Has an incantation bound your path?"

"If I accept anyone's help, then I won't be able to leave," she said. "It's the deal Jareth made with me."

The man's eyes grew wide, and he stared up at her in wonder. "Jareth? Oh, she calls the king by name. You must be such a wonder, lost girl! Tell me, are you the queen all the old stories speak of? It would be a kindness if you were, for we've been waiting all this time for your return, and it would make any number sad to see you go." His ears drooped, but then perked up again. "Tell me, proud girl, what is your name?"

"Ginny," she said sharply, "but I don't see why it matters." She pushed past him and headed through the swamp, but the man followed her, even though she shot glares after him.

"I'm called Isac by some," he said. "Damn Thing by others, but I'd prefer you call me Isac. I hope you'll let me accompany you, Ginny, even if it's only for a little while. I know this labyrinth well. Born, raised, and grown here I was, and if you need to get out, then I can show you the way better than anyone else, probably better even than our king."

"I already told you I can't have help," Ginny snapped. "I won't be able to leave the labyrinth if you give me any, and unless you want me to stay here forever, you'd better get lost." A thought struck her, and she whirled to face Isac, pointing her wand at his heart. "And if you do want me to stay here forever, you'd better get lost before I hex you." He didn't know that her magic wouldn't work right, and there had to be some spell she could use. Just then, she thought she could even pull off a Cruciatus Curse.

Isac chuckled and shook his head. "Does it seem like I'm helping you, brave and proud Ginny? Tell me truthfully, little lost girl, if you could accept help, would you take mine?"

"No," she said at once, lowering her wand slightly.

"Then, if anything, I'm hindering you, and you ought to be glad to have me along. Every minute you suffer my presence is another minute you won't be at all helped. In fact, I'll be the only one helped, since it's been long enough since I've had the company of a pretty girl." He sprang ahead, sending up a great wave of water that soaked Ginny up to her knees. "And don't try to leave, otherwise you'll have the help of being free from my presence!"

Ginny glared at his back but decided he had some strange sort of logic. If he did lead her to the end of the labyrinth, then she would have had to deal with his inanity all that way, and it would indeed be a help to be rid of him. Cursing under her breath, she followed him as he sprang through the water, chattering away.

If Isac realized that Ginny wasn't going to respond to anything he said, he didn't show it. If anything, he talked even more, though his attempts at conversation grew even more inane than they had been earlier. Sometimes she thought he was speaking complete nonsense, and more than once she was sure he had gone into some other language. He sang a few times, and once even started whistling a tune that was troublingly catchy, for even several minutes later Ginny couldn't get it out of her mind, even though she ran the Hogwarts school song through her thoughts in every tune she could think of.

He did lead her out of the swamp, and to a staircase that seemed endless and led them through fire that gave off noxious smoke. From there, they ran through a forest, and after climbing a tree, Ginny found herself on an island. Diving into the ocean around the island led her to a wrecked city, and she followed Isac through the streets until they reached a doorway that revealed a hall inside Hogwarts.

Ginny had never been more glad to see her old home.


	6. Fall from Grace

"Well, there you are," Isac said, and he sounded almost melancholy to see her leave. "The exit to the labyrinth. I wish you the best of luck, proud Ginny. Whatever world you'll face out there must surely be better than this one, at least if you wish to leave us so desperately." He turned large, sad eyes on her, but Ginny wasn't in any mood to hand out pity.

"I'd thank you for your help, but you haven't given me any," she said, and the words weren't just a partial ploy to make sure the magic would allow her to leave. She strongly believed that Isac hadn't given her even the slightest bit of help. She had been the one leading while he simply tagged along and chattered. The few times he had taken the lead had been when he wanted a bit of food, and Ginny was sure that he had led her off the right path several times. The best she could say was that the food he had given her was edible, but she only said that because it hadn't killed her or made her sick, and she wasn't entirely sure about that last part, given how queasy she felt.

"Quite right," Isac said, and his expression brightened just long enough to give her a wink before falling again. "I suppose this is good-bye forever, then."

"More like good riddance," Ginny muttered. She was eager to get out of the labyrinth and get some kind of help for her ribs, which still ached with each breath. Her robe was disgusting and now likely only good for burning, and she desperately wanted a bath and a chance to cast some proper magic. Still, she didn't plunge through the door as she had thought she would as soon as she reached it. Instead, she paced in front of it, looking at the walls of the house. It looked like nothing more than a dilapidated, abandoned home, and when she peered through the dusty windows, that was all she saw. There were chairs lying on their sides and broken toys scattered across the floor, along with a book with half the pages torn out.

"What's the matter?" Isac asked, frowning. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

Through the windows, it as an ordinary house, but through the door she saw the familiar stones of Hogwarts through a fine mist. There were familiar portraits, and Ginny thought she saw the painting of Elsa Ellsworth at her enchanted piano, and she knew that if she stepped through, she would hear the witch swearing at the top of her lungs as she attempted to get a group of pixies out of her instrument. Still, she hesitated. "How do I know this isn't a trap?" she asked, pointing her wand at the doorway, though she didn't know what spell she ought to cast.

"Do you truly believe I would lead you into a trap?" Isac asked.

"I don't know what I believe about you," Ginny said. "You might be working for Jareth so I won't be able to leave." She hadn't accepted his help, she reminded herself, and she would insist on that if Jareth appeared before her and said she would never be able to get out of the labyrinth. A quick glance down the street showed no sign of the Goblin King but didn't reassure her.

Isac shook his head. "I would never work for that man. He may be our king, and I may be forced to respect him, but I wouldn't work for him, not since he brought this fair kingdom to ruin."

"The exit was in a different place last time, too," she said, before Isac's words sank into her mind. "What was that you said?"

Isac sighed and sat on the front step of the house, his back to the hall. "I suppose I might as well tell you the story. I'm an old man, after all, and if a pretty girl will listen to one of my stories, who am I to deny her, even if she's as proud and lost as you are?" He grinned, and when Ginny didn't return the smile, he leaned back just enough that he didn't fall into the hall. "I could stretch it into a long tale, but you likely wouldn't appreciate that, impatient as you are. And whatever that stick of yours can do, I'd appreciate it if you pointed it elsewhere. That's better.

"Now, Jareth wasn't always the Goblin King. That title has been passed down from king to king, and some of them were even less human than he is. It has a bloody history, and I won't bore you with the details of how it was passed. I will say that Jareth won the crown as fairly as it ever has been won, though he did it with trickery rather than through force. Some say that's where all our troubles come from, but I disagree. It was one through trickery before; the greatest queen we had, called simply Regina because no other queen could surpass her, tricked the crown from the hands of her squire, and she was a wonderful ruler. No, the failing comes from something else, though I cannot say what.

"You're biased enough to disbelieve me, but this place was once wondrous and filled with any number of joys. Several years ago, however, it began to fall into disrepair. The labyrinth was once as sturdy as anything, and when it changed, it was only at the hand of a strong ruler who could master it. These days it shifts almost constantly, and I don't believe that comes from Jareth's strength. I think the labyrinth is discontented with our king, and it wishes to remove him, but it cannot. There must be a successor to the crown. It is my belief that one has already arrived, and the labyrinth has sensed that."

Ginny was very glad he hadn't tried to give her the long version, and she rolled her eyes. "So you think I'm the proper successor? Is that why you wanted me to stay?"

Isac nodded eagerly. "If you could take Jareth from his throne, you might restore the labyrinth to its proper order. Jareth wants you to stay because he no doubt thinks a queen will give him enough power to remain on the throne. Or he genuinely loves you." Isac muttered under his breath, but Ginny didn't care to hear whatever it was he said.

"Not a chance," she said, and turned to the hall. "I'm not a queen, and I don't want to be one. I'm just a kid, and I'm going to do whatever I have to so I can get home. There's a war going on where I come from, and they need me."

"But we need you more!" Isac cried, grabbing her hand. When she tried to pull away, claws slipped from his fingers and dug into her skin, making her cry out in pain. When she tried to pull away again, blood trickled down her skin, and she cursed before biting her lip, determined not to cry in front of him. "As you say, you are young. Do they truly need you as much as you say? One child cannot do much in a war, but she can take a throne and save a people."

Ginny hesitated, staring at her home. Maybe one girl couldn't do much in the war for Hogwarts. After all, Harry was the important one back home, and while she had never resented him for being the Chosen One – it seemed far too troublesome for her taste, and she preferred to cause trouble without being a target for dark magic – she couldn't deny that she would love to be important to someone for a reason beyond being the youngest in a family. Neville insisted that everyone in the DA was important and necessary, but they had students all through the school. Surely she could slip away for a little while.

"Please," Isac said, his voice soft and pleading. "We need you."

Her family would need her, and her friends, and everyone around her would need her somehow. "Will I be able to find my way back here?" she asked. "Can I become queen and then go back home?"

"What do you mean?" Isac asked. "Why would you want to leave?" He tugged on her hand, and she allowed him to lead her away from the house. Hogwarts was visible until they turned a corner, and it was only then that Isac released Ginny's hand, as though having her away from the temptation would keep her from running and diving through the door.

Perhaps it would. Ginny didn't make an attempt to run and instead tried to find a clean part of her robe to wipe her hand on. There was none, so she decided she might was well just let herself bleed. It was probably safer than touching whatever muck was on her clothes to an open wound. "I don't want to stay here," she said. "I don't want to be a queen. I'll help you if I can, because that's what I do, but I'm not going to stick around forever. Once Jareth's gone, I want to go back home."

Isac sighed. "I will try to return you to your home," he said, his shoulders slumping. "But what will become of us when there is no queen? Would you abandon us to anarchy? That might be even worse than Jareth's reign."

If the labyrinth was tied to whoever ruled it, then Ginny supposed he had a point. It might become even more uncontrollable than it was now, or it might devolve into formless chaos. "What if I gave up the crown?" she asked. "Have there been rulers who abdicated?"

Isac tilted his head, frowning. "The Morris did," he said. "He was a madman and said he had to give up his throne because the labyrinth would burst into flame if he didn't, but it has happened."

"Then that's what I'll do," Ginny said. She shifted her grip on her wand and looked around the streets. The whole city seemed abandoned, and she doubted anyone would suddenly crawl out of the shadows and offer either to help them – though she wasn't sure she could accept that help – or take the crown. Of course, she couldn't just hand the crown over to whoever came out to see her. If she was going to be queen, even if only for a little while, then she would have to at least try to care about the people of the labyrinth, and that meant she couldn't just abandon them to whatever fate they might get at some random new ruler.

She sighed and leaned against the wall of the nearest building, not caring if she got dirt or rust on her robe. Being queen was far harder than Bill's stories would have had her believe. His queens almost always got to sit around until they went on quests to fight dragons or retrieve treasure or rescue princes who had gotten themselves into trouble.

"We might as well get moving, then," she said, pushing herself away from the wall. "How well do you know this place?"

"As well as I know any place else," Isac said brightly, and he started off down the road, leaving Ginny to hurry after him. "Come along, my little queen! I'll show you to a safe place where you can rest and get into some more suitable clothes." He cast a suspicious eye at her robe before returning his attention to the winding streets. "If you're going to be our queen, you'll need to look the part. Jareth didn't take the throne looking like something a rat coughed up."

"It's your fault I look like this," Ginny snapped. "If you hadn't dragged me through that swamp, I'd look perfectly fine." Maybe it hadn't been his fault she was in the swamp – it certainly wasn't, actually – but it was useful to blame things on him, and perhaps it would keep her from accepting his help.

"You'd look like a witch," Isac said.

"I am a witch." Ginny grabbed his shoulder and turned him around so she could glare at him properly. "Let's get that straight, all right? I'm a witch, and I don't want to change that at all. If I have to be someone else to be queen, then you can find some other successor. I'm putting up with enough from you without having to hide who I am." She was tempted to hex him, but this wasn't quite worth using up her magic for.

Isac grinned and leapt back, pulling free from her hand, though there was still a patch of bright red blood on his shoulder. "Well, I'll make you look like a proper witch, then. Witch Queen Ginny, you'll be called, and they'll tell stories about you. All lies, of course, but useful lies. Come, come!" He sprang ahead, and Ginny had to run to keep up with him, though it made her side hurt worse than ever. "I'll bring you a friend of mine – a good friend, very useful – and she'll be able to help you!"

Ginny shook her head but didn't stop, afraid that if she did he would run on and leave her behind. "I can't have any help."

"But this isn't help in getting out," Isac said. "It's help in taking it over. Isn't that acceptable?"

Jareth hadn't said anything about using help to take his throne, and Ginny hadn't thought to ask. She doubted he would have thought to tell her about it for fear she might get an idea. "Fine," she snarled. "I'll accept her help, but I'd better not be trapped here forever."

"You won't be," Isac said, and he ran on still faster. For a moment, Ginny thought it might be best if she were to let him go and return to the door. Promise or not, she wanted to get home, and getting pulled into a side quest was the exact opposite of doing that. When she had a chance to glance around the street, though, she found that she was completely lost. She had to stick by his side.

Isac led her to a door that looked even more dark and drab than all the others and rapped on it three times. Ginny, who had stopped and bent double to catch her breath, heard only a muffled voice in response.

"Oh, just open the door!" Isac called. "Honestly, Phelia, it's me! Have I ever brought any trouble to your door?"

There was another muffled response. Ginny was able to stand straight again, but breathing still hurt, and her left hand was covered in blood, which was likely something very troublesome.

"Well, fine, that once, but this time's different!" Isac said. "I've got a girl with me who says she'll be the next queen. She'll take Jareth's crown, then give it to someone else, and we'll be free once she goes home. I think she's the one the labyrinth's been waiting for."

After a moment, the door opened, and a small figure that looked as though it had been made out of several twigs bound together in a roughly human shape gestured for them to come in. Ginny had to duck her head slightly to enter the house, but the roof was high enough that it barely brushed her scalp. Isac, of course, was perfectly comfortable, as was the stick-figure, who Ginny guessed to be Phelia.

"She'll be a Witch Queen," Isac said as Phelia took Ginny's bleeding hand and began to clean it with a little white cloth. Once the worst of the blood had been wiped away, she bound it with a soft cloth that felt wonderful against the stinging wounds. "Would you be willing to give her proper clothes and such? She will need to look the part."

"We'll have to wrap her other hand in something," Phelia said. "Symmetry's sake." She peered up at Ginny's face, then nodded. "I think I can do this work. Give me a little time. Some hours. No more. By evening."

"Evening?" Isac slammed his fist on a table, then winced. "What's happening in the afternoon?"

"Rescue," Phelia said. "A boy. They say he's tied to the flame-haired stranger. Your Witch Queen." She bowed her head in Ginny's direction, then busied herself with wiping some dust off the table, though the surface appeared to be more dust than anything else. "Cassidy is the name. So I hear."

"You're going to rescue Cassidy?" Ginny asked. "Why? What happened to him?" He hadn't done anything for her in eight years, but even if she had barely remembered him, she didn't want anything bad to happen to him. He was only a boy, after all.

Phelia shrugged. "Locked away by Jareth. We save him as defiance. Nothing more. Once he is free, he will go on to somewhere else. I do not care."

"I do," Ginny said, clenching her hands into fists. Her hurt hand stung, but she didn't mind the pain. "I want to help with the rescue." Before either of them could deny her, she glared around the table. Isac wilted slightly under the force of her gaze, but Phelia merely shrugged again and went on with her work, her face as expressionless as before.

"I suppose it could only help to have the Witch Queen on an important rescue," Isac muttered. "We'll have to dress her up first, though. Haven't you got even a simple costume, Phelia? Just something until we can get her properly decked out?"

Phelia nodded once and led Ginny further into the house, which only seemed to grow dustier and drabber the further they went. Like it or not, she realized, she was stuck, so she might as well become a Witch Queen. After all, what was the worst that could happen?


	7. Reunions

The Witch Queen costume was, apparently, entirely black clothing with some bits of silver jewelry here and there. Ginny would have preferred gold, but Phelia was insistent, and Isac said that silver was more tied to witchcraft. In the end, Ginny gave in, but only because it hardly mattered anyway. What was more important was the chance to save Cassidy.

As soon as she was dressed, Ginny set off with a small group of others. They were all strange creatures – though none were goblins – and after a while she gave up on trying to figure out which creature had which name. It might well be important for a queen to know her subjects, but she wouldn't be queen for long, even if the labyrinth had been waiting for her. It hardly could have been, even if it had started changing after she arrived. Prophecies might be real, but that didn't mean there was one about her.

Phelia led the group through paths hidden under the ground, and even though some were filled with water and others had stars shining from the ceiling, Ginny knew they were the same paths Cassidy had led her down all those years ago. He had saved her back then, and even if she couldn't avenge him, she could at least return the favor and get him out of whatever prison Jareth held him in.

No one spoke as they walked, and even though energy seemed to burn at the base of Ginny's throat, she didn't break the silence. It was the sort of silence that felt almost holy, but in the sense that they were embarking on some holy war. To speak would be to ruin the moment that hung around them, and she wanted to hold onto it. The moment gave her rage, and rage was something she could use and direct against Jareth. Rage was something she knew, something that seemed to belong to her. Rage was red and gold, a lion's roar.

Rage was all she had felt for months now.

The group didn't stop often, and the few times it did, Ginny was always anxious to keep moving. She didn't want to linger and give her feelings a chance to cool; if she hesitated, she might find that she no longer cared as strongly about her battle, and she couldn't give up her determination. Everything would fall to pieces if she did. She was a warrior, and warriors didn't let their anger cool. They held onto whatever they had to in order to fight. It was how she had survived Hogwarts and how she had been able to protect the younger students, like the Creevey boys. If it hadn't been for her, they would likely have died near the beginning of the year.

Only once did someone speak to her, and even then it was in a whisper. Isac crept up to her side while they rested, and before she had even realized he was there, asked, "What's got you so worried, proud queen?"

She jumped in surprised, then hissed, "It's none of your concern."

"You concern me," Isac said. He had been squatting on the ground, and now he edged his way closer to her, close enough that he could have touched her if he wanted to, but Ginny's glare likely dissuaded him. "My proud queen, my lost queen, tell me what bothers you. Let me be your confidant."

"I don't need a confidant," she said, but it was nice to have someone to talk to, and she was more likely to talk to Isac than anyone else here. She sighed and leaned her head against the wall. "I keep being pulled into wars. There's the one I'm fighting back home – though I guess my boyfriend's fighting it and I'm just helping out on another front – and then there's this one, even though I don't care all that much about this place. No offence."

"None taken," Isac said, sounding surprisingly cheerful. "What sort of war do you have in your other world? Are you fighting for a throne?"

Ginny shook her head. "There's a man who wants to take over everything. He's a dark wizard, and he's already killed a lot of people." Perhaps by now he'd have killed Harry, or Hermione, or even Ron, and her chest ached at the thought of any of them being dead. "He's going to kill more if we can't stop him. My friends and I are fighting his followers, who've taken over our school."

Isac nodded, looking almost sage. "That sounds much more tiring than this one. Isn't it nice to have a break for once? This is almost like a vacation for you! Take a break from one war with a quick little battle for a throne."

Ginny shook her head again and closed her eyes. "It's exhausting. I just want to go home."

Isac shrugged and got to his feet. As one, it seemed as though the whole group had decided it was time to move on, and Ginny rose as well, though she had wanted to fall asleep. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had last slept, and even a little nap would have been welcome. "You didn't have to come with us," he said. "You chose to help. Remember that, proud queen. I know we won't forget."

But she'd had to go with them, she thought as they continued down the tunnel. She wasn't much of a hero, but she was one nevertheless, and she'd had to do something. No Gryffindor could sit around and do nothing at all when people needed their help, and she was sure most people from other houses would have decided to help too. As she followed Phelia, she wondered whether this could be something she did. She could head to different worlds and save people. If it was possible to reach other places than the labyrinth, she could be a hero even more important than Harry, and it wouldn't be because she had been born to it. It would be because she chose to help, and perhaps that made her even more heroic.

Of course, it would also make it look like she was just trying to outdo her boyfriend. Maybe she was, a little, but she didn't want everyone to glance sideways at her and just decide that was who she was. There were plenty of ways to be extraordinary and not have to leave her home.

That rest was their last one before Phelia pushed up a stone and led them into the courtyard of Jareth's castle. Even though Ginny had left it only hours ago, it already looked different, with dozens of statues and fountains scattered everywhere. There was no sense of logic to where they were placed, and low hedges grew between them, forming a miniature labyrinth leading to the castle doors.

"It's a curse," someone whispered. "Labyrinths within labyrinths. Circles within circles. We'll never be able to get out. The labyrinth is warning us that we're doomed."

"Not a chance," Ginny said, and everyone turned to look at her. She was easily the tallest person in the group, and strange as it felt to have everyone looking up at her, she rather liked it. "I'm not going back until Cassidy's out. Phelia, where will I find him?"

"A door," Phelia said, pointing. "There's a secret hall. Follow it to the boy, then return. We will wait for you."

Ginny set off at a run, hurdling over the low hedges. There wasn't enough space for her to properly hurdle them, but she was at least able to jump over them without knocking any leaves off, and within minutes she was at the door. It opened without the need for any magic, and a short flight of stairs led her to a narrow, dusty hall. Ginny wrinkled her nose and edged down it, walking until the last bits of light from the doorway had faded and she was alone in the dark. Phelia had said it was secret, and she hadn't mentioned anything about whether Ginny would have to find her own way, but Ginny still hesitated, nervous about stepping forward into the unknown.

But fear of the dark had to be just about the most foolish fear a witch could have, and Ginny raised her wand and said, "_Lumos._" She wasn't sure what would happen, but she was far past caring.

Her wand didn't light, but all along the walls, little glowing spheres appeared, shedding a warm yellow light that coated the hall like honey. It somehow managed to look almost friendly, and just as Ginny had suspected, there were no branches or turns. It led straight ahead, and she followed the spheres until they brought her to a barred door in front of a tiny cell. Crouched in a corner was a small figure who appeared to be half boy and half goblin.

Ginny dropped to one knee. "Cassidy?" she whispered. "Cassidy, is that you?"

The boy looked up, and she saw that it was indeed him. A smile burst over his face, and he crawled to the door, reaching through the bars to grab her hands. "Ginny!" he said. "I knew you'd come back. I won't help you, I promise. I'll just follow you, and then we both can leave. What do you think? Will you take me back with you?"

His eyes were so bright and eager that Ginny was tempted to push him away rather than tell him, but she couldn't keep the truth from him forever. "You can't come back to our world," she said. "People would think you're some strange kind of monster. You're safer here." When his face started to fall, she squeezed his hand and smiled. "But I'll make this place better. I'm going to get rid of Jareth. He won't be the king anymore."

"Then who will?" he asked.

"Me," she said. "For a little while, at least. Then I'll find someone else to give the crown to." The problem was that she barely knew anyone, and she couldn't think of who she would trust to have the crown. Phelia seemed all right, but for all Ginny knew, the woman would become a tyrant. Isac was out of the question entirely. That only left a little boy, and while she was hesitant to trust a little boy with any sort of power, she wasn't sure how much choice she had. At least Cassidy seemed like a decent kid. He wouldn't ruin things too badly.

Cassidy nodded. "Because you'll want to go home again. You don't belong in the labyrinth."

"Exactly." Neither did he, but he didn't belong in their world any longer, and this one might be kinder to someone trapped in between. "Scoot back. I'm going to get you out of this cell." She got to her feet, and once Cassidy was well away from the door, she pointed her wand at the lock and said, "_Alohomora_."

Just as she had expected, the door flew backward, narrowly missing Cassidy. He sprang to his feet and ran out, nearly tackling her with a hug. Ginny stumbled and rather awkwardly patted his head. She wasn't used to being hugged by people so much smaller than her, and as Cassidy grabbed her hand and pulled her through the hall, she wondered if this was what it would be like to have a younger brother. He might be kind of annoying, but she was fond of him anyway, and she didn't want anything to happen to him.

Maybe that was how Ron felt about her.

"How are you going to get rid of the king?" Cassidy asked as he pulled her through the halls at a run. Short as his legs were, Ginny had to jog to keep up with him, and her ribs hurt with every breath. "Are you going to challenge him to a duel?"

"I hadn't really thought about that," she admitted. "Is there something special I have to do?" If there was some kind of ritual, she was certainly doomed. She wasn't even any good at rituals in her own world, and this one was a complete mystery to her. "Like, words I have to say, or anything?" Would she have to give a speech? She could do that, sort of, but she was best when she already knew the people she was speaking to and knew what sort of thing she had to say. Anyway, rousing speeches were more Neville's thing. She was best at making battle plans.

"I don't know," Cassidy said. "There's always something people do when they bring others back, but that changes each time."

It had changed each time in Bill's stories, too. That would be no help at all, especially since none of his stories had been about taking the Goblin King's crown. She was completely out of her depth, but as Cassidy led her up a flight of stairs, she realized that might be for the best. She could make the story this time instead of relying on what Bill might have told her.

"How do you know how to get around this place?" she asked as they ran through a room filled with dust-covered pictures. She didn't think he was leading her into a trap, but then, it was hard to be sure who she could trust, and it would be just her luck to wind up with a treacherous child, or if he had decided to betray her because she broke her promise eight years ago. Maybe she would have to keep the crown.

"I've been here for years," Cassidy said, and for a moment his eyes looked older than he really was. Or perhaps they looked like his proper age; Ginny wasn't sure how she ought to think of him, as a boy or as someone grown. Then he grinned and was a boy again, and she relaxed a little. "I know this place well."

"Then take me to Jareth."

Cassidy led her well, and before her legs could start to ache from all the walking she'd been doing, he had pushed open the doors to the throne room. This, at least, hadn't changed, and she felt almost relieved to see that. The constant changes had alarmed her a little, but then, maybe the castle was closer to the king than the rest of the labyrinth was, or maybe it was more loyal to him. If she'd had more time, she would have tried to find out, but now she released Cassidy's hand and strode forward.

Jareth lounged on his throne, looking almost bored, but he smiled when he caught sight of Ginny. "So, you've given up. Does this mean you've decided to become my queen?" He leaned forward, suddenly attentive. "I'm willing to woo you, if that is what it will take. I will pluck the stars from the heavens to win your heart, and then you will be by my side forever."

"Not a chance," Ginny said, raising her wand. "I didn't come here to be your queen. I came to take your throne."

That caught his attention, and he shot to his feet. He was tall and lanky, and yet Ginny was able to keep her wand trained on his heart. She didn't know what sort of spell she could cast, but she did know that she would have to think carefully. Whatever she did might hurt her just as much as it hurt him. "You would dare to turn against me?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "I would offer you everything, Ginny. Can you deny my offer so easily?"

"Yeah," she said. "I can. I'm not going to stay here with you, and nothing you say can change that." She was tempted to retreat, but she couldn't back down. She wouldn't be a coward, not in front of Jareth and certainly not in front of Cassidy.

"I thought you wanted to leave," Jareth said. "What would bring you back here?"

"I owed someone a favor," she said. "I don't walk away from my debts." Not that she'd ever had many that meant anything, but it was the principle of the thing. "I want your crown. You can either surrender it now, or I can fight you. Which do you want?" She lifted her chin, proud of how strong her voice had been. Anyone with any sense would be frightened of her by now, and she was sure she could even get a Slytherin seventh-year to quake with those words and the look in her eyes.

But Jareth knew nothing about her reputation at Hogwarts, and he didn't know that she had the ability to terrify the people around her with even the hint that she would hex them. "You are aware that the crown will bind you here," he said. "Once the labyrinth accepts you, it will not release you easily."

"I'm willing to take that chance," Ginny said, though she wished Isac had mentioned that. Of course, it could just as easily be Jareth making it up to scare her.

Jareth smirked. "You'd have made a wonderful queen, with that spirit, even more wonderful than the girl who escaped before you. Her name was Sarah, and she was just as brave and proud as you seem to be." He flicked his hand, and the goblins scurried out of the room, leaving them alone except for Cassidy, huddled by the doors. Ginny hadn't noticed the goblins at first, but now that they were gone, the room felt ominous. "You still have a chance, you know. Join me, and you can rule by my side. We will be equals. There's no need for you to put your life in danger."

"I put my life in danger every day," Ginny said, "and the people I fight are a lot scarier than you."

"Brave words from a brave girl," Jareth said. "Very well."

Before Ginny could blink, he struck.


	8. Satisfaction

Jareth was faster than she ever would have believed, and Ginny gagged as his arm hit her neck. Gasping for breath, she stumbled backward, swinging her wand up and trying to gasp out a spell, but she couldn't pull in enough air to say anything. If she'd had a chance to learn nonverbal spells, she realized she might have stood a chance, but that would have been if she had a proper Defense Against the Dark Arts professor this year instead of a Death Eater who Neville wouldn't let her duel. As it was, the most she could do was try to get away from Jareth until she could speak again.

But Jareth wasn't about to let her escape him. "Poor, brave, little girl," he said, circling her. "They dressed you up like a Witch Queen, didn't they? Do you really think your magic will save you now? Give up, and I'll be merciful."

He looked like a predator circling its prey, and Ginny turned in a circle as well, making sure never to turn her back on him. She wouldn't go down without a fight, and she gave him only a glare. "I don't trust your mercy," she rasped. Her voice sounded terrible, but at least she had a voice again.

"Your magic is what you shouldn't trust," he said, and stopped, spreading his arms. "I remember how well it worked last time. Cast a spell. Any spell." A slow smile spread across his face, and Ginny was sorely tempted to forgo her wand and simply punch him. "I won't do anything to try to stop you. I won't even try to get out of the way of whatever you want to do."

"Don't do it!" Cassidy yelled from his place by the door, his voice thin and anxious. "It's a trick! It has to be!"

"Have I ever tricked you, Ginny?" Jareth asked. "Have I ever done anything that might lead you astray? I've been completely open about my motives the whole time you've known me. I want you here, by my side." He took a step forward, then stopped himself and smiled. "But there will be time for that later. Go on. Cast your spell. I'll even close my eyes." He did so, and Ginny swallowed nervously. She couldn't try to stun him, and she was sure that any sort of offensive spell would backfire somehow. Defensive spells would be useless, though, at least for this.

But she had to do something. Crossing her fingers for whatever luck they might bring, she said, "_Impedimenta._"

Jareth didn't move. He didn't even seem to breathe, and after a moment, Ginny lowered her wand. It hadn't worked. She wouldn't give up, but the exhaustion of before had started to catch up to her, and she found she was more tired than she had expected. Maybe he was right and she wouldn't have a chance to win. Being the Witch Queen had been a foolish idea, and the best that had happened was that she had saved Cassidy. Even if it was better than nothing, it wouldn't help her get home.

It did mean she wasn't indebted to him any longer. "Head on out, Cassidy," she called. "Get as far away as you can and hide. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." She didn't move, not sure when Jareth would decide to open his eyes and attack again, but after a moment where absolutely nothing happened, she glanced to the door. If she had to drag Cassidy out of the castle, she would, but she would rather not turn her back on Jareth.

Cassidy hadn't moved.

It wasn't just that he had stayed in the same place; he held the exact same position as he had when Ginny had last seen him. Nearly dropping her wand from shock, she ran to the doors, not caring that Jareth might come after her. She knew, though, that he wouldn't. Everything else in the room was frozen, and as she knelt by Cassidy, she had the eerie feeling that she was moving around in a dream.

"Cassidy," she whispered, shaking his shoulder. "Cassidy, come on. Get out of here."

It was useless, and she supposed she should have known it would be. The spell had affected everything in the room, possibly even beyond that, and the only way to free her friend was also by freeing Jareth. She supposed she could wait until the spell wore off, but around here, that could take longer than the few minutes it took back home, and as far as she knew, it wouldn't wear off at all but would linger. Her heart sank, and she knew she would have to keep fighting, tired as she was. With a sigh, she got to her feet and pointed her wand at Cassidy, hoping that perhaps it would only affect him and leave Jareth frozen forever.

"_Finite incantatem._"

Cassidy blinked, and when he caught sight of her, he yelped and jumped to his feet. "How did you get over here so quickly?" he asked.

"I used a spell," she said. There wasn't enough time to explain, and she grabbed Cassidy's hand to pull him toward the door. "You've got to get out of here. Find somewhere to hide while I deal with Jareth. I'll come find you after I win." And if she didn't win, then he wouldn't have to watch her fail.

"I don't want to leave you," Cassidy said, clinging to her hand. "Can't I stay and watch?"

Ginny shook her head. "I went to too much trouble to save you to have you get locked in a cell again. There are people waiting outside who will help. They'll take you to a safe place. Trust me."

Cassidy nodded reluctantly, and Ginny had just pushed him toward the door when she felt a hand close over her throat. It wasn't tight enough to restrict her breathing, but the fingers curled around her neck, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get away, especially not with Jareth's body pressed against her back and his voice whispering in her ear. "You cannot leave this place, Ginny," he said, breath sliding across her skin. "You will always be here, and so will I. I will be with you every waking hour, and when you sleep, I will lie by your side. You cannot run, and you cannot hide. Take your place as my queen and end this foolish battle. You were meant to rule, Ginny, not to fight."

"I don't see why I can't do both," Ginny said, and slammed her foot against Jareth's instep. He snarled in pain, and she twisted her body, pulling easily free of his grip and pointing her wand at his throat. "Did you really think you could scare me that easily? Who do you think I am?"

"I think you're the girl who should be my queen," Jareth said. "If you disagree, then perhaps you'll need more convincing, and I have all the time I need. You can't escape, and neither can your friend."

Ginny took a step forward and felt a sharp stab of satisfaction at seeing Jareth retreat. "What the hell does that mean?" she asked. "Have you got some trick up your sleeve?" She thought he was bluffing, but she couldn't be sure, and if he did have a trick to pull, it would be better to find out by hearing him talk about it than learning what it could do to her first-hand.

"No trick," Jareth said, smirking again. "It's only that my goblins are currently slaughtering your little army outside. They won't hurt you, of course, and I'll have them spare your little friend, but only because you're so fond of him. Everyone else will die." Jareth took a step to the side, as though he was going to circle her again, but Ginny blocked him, determined to keep herself between him and Cassidy. Jareth's smile turned to a frown, but only for a moment, before it returned as infuriating as ever. "Cassidy will become a goblin, though. That, and your hand, are the only prices I'll ask for your lives."

Fred or George would have had some witty retort, but Ginny wasn't her brothers, and the only thing on her tongue was sheer rage. Her hand clenched her wand so tightly she was surprised the wood didn't snap, and her chest felt tight with fury. Even if she had known what to say, she wouldn't have been able to speak past her bloodlust.

"You could have done so well," Jareth said, spreading his hands. "If you hadn't been so hasty, then perhaps –"

"_Incendio!_"

Fire didn't shoot from the tip of her wand, but the spell was as effective as Ginny could have hoped for. Jareth's throne burst into flame, and as he turned, the fire spread to the straw on the floor. It moved more quickly than Ginny had thought fire could move, and for a terrifying moment she thought she must have created Fiendfyre. Then the terror turned into excitement, and with a flick of her wand, she sent the flames roaring to the ceiling. Jareth yelled, an incoherent cry of anger, and Ginny laughed, flicking her wand left and right so the flames would scorch the walls as well. Some of the stone began to glow red, and even the parts that didn't burn had black marks left where the fire touched them.

"You think I'm not doing well?" she asked, and even though she had to force every word past the lump in her throat, she was able to speak. "You think I'm weak and ready to surrender? You don't know a thing about me, Jareth. I'm a lioness, and there's nothing more dangerous."

"Ginny –"

Cassidy's voice shook as he spoke from behind her, but Ginny didn't turn to comfort him. Instead, she only sent the flames higher and said, "Run. Get out of here, Cassidy. I'm going to burn this castle to the ground if I can, and you shouldn't be in it when that happens." The air was growing hotter by the second, and even though the fire gave off no smoke, it was difficult to breathe.

"Ginny, I don't want to leave you!" Cassidy cried.

The throne room would be destroyed within minutes if the fire kept up in the way it was going, and Ginny realized that if she stuck around, she would be killed as well. "Okay," she said, "but you go first. I'll be right behind you."

Jareth had fallen to his knees, apparently in shock, and though Ginny knew it was possibly the dumbest thing she could do, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room and away with her. She'd already defeated him, she supposed, and she didn't have to kill him, but it still bugged her that her conscience demanded she save his life. Of all the things to have right then, a sense of honor had to be the most useless.

As soon as Ginny left the throne room, the fire exploded, and the shock wave at her back pushed her forward. Suddenly the air was full of smoke, and ash drifted past her face like dozens of little gnats. Coughing and choking, with the weight of the former Goblin King resting on her shoulders, she stumbled through the front gates after Cassidy and found a heavy battle in the hedge labyrinth. Goblins were fighting against all the various creatures who had helped her reach the castle, and though no one had died yet, it was only a matter of time.

Ginny let Jareth fall to her feet, and when that didn't get the attention of the fighters, she coughed twice before yelling. "Hey! Quit it!"

It was far from the most dramatic thing she could have said, but it got everyone's attention, and they looked up at her, blinking in surprise as though she were the sunrise. Of course, that could have been from the fire behind her, but Ginny preferred to believe it was because she was such a remarkable sight, though she was sure her Witch Queen costume was stained with ash and disheveled from being hit.

"Enough!" she yelled, though her throat was so sore it hurt to talk. "I've defeated Jareth, and now I have the crown of the labyrinth." Rather, she would have, but she suspected it was burning. "All of you are to stop fighting immediately! Or else…" She faltered a little and glanced to Cassidy, wondering what sort of punishment she ought to hand out.

"Or you'll be sent out into the Field of Night!" Cassidy declared. His voice sounded a little deeper than before, and Ginny decided he could do the talking for both of them. "Now, all of you, kneel to the Goblin Queen!"

As one, the people in the courtyard knelt, and Ginny suddenly felt very grand and important. A smile spread over her face, and even if her sudden coughing fit wasn't very dignified, she still felt like a queen. Being royalty was absolutely wonderful, she decided, even if she'd had to run through a fire to achieve it.

The first sign she had that something wasn't quite right was when Cassidy started to levitate and glow.

Ginny stared, and even her surprise couldn't stop her from noticing the little details around her – or perhaps her surprise made her more aware of the details. She saw how everyone else's gaze turned to the boy, and even Jareth raised his head to see what was going on, coming out of his stupor just enough to whisper, "Of course. Of course it was him."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, and she kicked him lightly as a small punishment for what he had done. It wasn't the sort of punishment he likely deserved, but it was all she could give just then.

It was something that should have been painted on a theatre backdrop. Cassidy had turned entirely gold, and the only other color was the red light that came from the fire, which appeared to be dying down. Ginny glanced to the side and saw that, instead of being destroyed, the castle looked as though it had been completely rebuilt, this time out of gold and carnelian, and it shone in the light from Cassidy. As he turned his head to her, Ginny realized that the story playing out was one that was far older than she had expected, and she had played only a small part.

"Thank you," Cassidy said to her, and his voice now sounded like a grown man's. "You freed me from my enchantment, Ginny." He smiled a little, looking almost shy. "I might have wished for something more out of a fairy tale, though. I had a bit of a crush on you when we were younger."

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked. She felt as though she could almost grasp the story, whatever it might be, but she still needed some small bit of explanation.

"Even back home, I was always different," Cassidy said. "I suppose I always belonged here, and it was only a matter of time before I was brought to the labyrinth. Maybe that's why I couldn't become a goblin; I was meant to be their king." The light suddenly vanished, and a tall, dark-haired man stood before her, still smiling shyly. "You could still be queen, if you wanted. I would make a far better king for you than Jareth ever would."

"Not a chance," Ginny said. "You're great, but I don't belong here. I belong at Hogwarts."

Cassidy bowed his head. "Of course," he said. "I won't try to keep you here. If you'd like, I can open a door directly to where you need to be, and you can leave at once. I would like it if you stayed a little while, though, if only so you can rest. You look exhausted." He reached out as though to touch her cheek, then drew his hand back.

She was exhausted, and a chance to rest would have felt wonderful, but there was no time for that. "Sorry," she said. "I've got another war to fight, and I don't think my other enemies are going to wait around for me to get some sleep."

"Time places strange limitations on us," Cassidy said. "If you ever want to return, there will always be a place for you here."

"Thanks," Ginny said. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to act in such a formal situation, and hoping to avoid any sort of awkwardness, she looked over at the courtyard. It was already changing; the statues and hedges were gone, and red grass was sprouting everywhere. A single leafless tree had grown in the middle, and as she watched, a few gold leaves appeared on its dark branches. "You too. If you ever come to Hogwarts, I mean. I could show you around."

"I'd like that." Cassidy reached out again, but this time he took her hand. "I still love you, Ginny, and I think I always will." There was such sincerity in his eyes that Ginny had to step back, pulling her hand away.

"I'm sorry," she said, though she was certain she didn't have to apologize. "You're great, really. But I don't belong here, and I don't belong with you, and I don't love you. Not that way."

She had been afraid she would see his heart break and have to deal with him being melancholy, but instead he only gave her a sad smile and pushed open the door to the castle, revealing a hall inside Hogwarts, the very same hall where she had fought Cokes. "I understand," he said. "Will you at least think of me, sometimes? As a friend. Nothing more."

"Sure," Ginny said. "It'd be pretty hard to forget you." With a grin, she stepped through the door.


	9. The Part at the End

Lily Potter's favorite toy was a doll with curly brown hair and clothes that could have come from the American pioneer era. The doll's name was Philomena (previously Katherine), and Lily insisted on having the doll with her any time she was told a story, so Philomena could learn how to be brave, like her parents and her oldest brother.

Most of the time, she accepted her mother's stories as truth. Tonight, however, she looked skeptical, and as Ginny braided her daughter's dark hair, she could tell from the girl's fidgets that she was unsatisfied. "What's the matter?" Ginny asked.

"It's just… Mum, was that story real?"

"Of course it was," Ginny said with a laugh, but Lily twisted around and looked up at her with wide green eyes.

"I don't mean real like those other stories," she said. "I mean, was it _real_? Did that actually happen, with you fighting the Goblin King and giving the throne to the new one?"

Ginny sighed. She hadn't realized her daughter had already reached the point where she could recognize when a story wasn't completely true, though she had thought it would be a while before she knew that some things that weren't true were still quite real. James had started Hogwarts that year, and even he still hadn't figured that out, though she suspected Albus was starting to pick it up. Of course, given how much time he spent around Lily, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Her little girl was clever, and Ginny secretly thought she would prove to be a Ravenclaw rather than a Gryffindor, though Lily had her heart set on being in the same house as her brother.

"And the ending was too fast," Lily said. "I didn't know enough about Cassidy to understand what was going on. Did he really belong in the labyrinth? And what happened to Hepzibah? Did she ever get into any trouble for what she did to her brother?" Lily looked down at Philomena and gently smoothed the doll's wild hair, though it was far more unmanageable than her own, and nearly as bad as Ginny remembered Hermione's being.

"Well, I can tell you about Hepzibah," Ginny said. "She did die, but it wasn't because of what happened to Cassidy. Voldemort killed her, a long time ago, because he wanted to get something that had belonged to Helga Hufflepuff to turn into a Horcrux. It was that Horcrux that your Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione destroyed."

Lily nodded solemnly. "It's not the same, really. I thought I was going to hate her, but now I just feel sad. Is that what I'm supposed to feel right now?"

"The world is a confusing place," Ginny said. "You have to figure out for yourself how to feel." When she had learned from Harry about what had happened to Hepzibah Smith, she had felt rather annoyed with herself. The sadness had come later, and even then, she doubted it was the same as what her daughter felt. Lily was a sensitive girl, and Ginny had once come home to find her crying over a dead butterfly she had found on the sidewalk.

Lily nodded again and faced forward, allowing her mother to finish braiding her hair. "What about the rest of it?" she asked. "Did Cassidy ever come to visit you? Did you ever go back to the labyrinth?"

"Yes to the first, no to the second," Ginny said. She hoped Lily wouldn't ask for any details about what had happened when Cassidy had come to visit her. It had been years ago, when she was pregnant with James, and Cassidy had stepped right out of a mirror and exclaimed about how large her stomach was. She'd had to explain that she was married and expecting a child, and though his face had fallen, he didn't seem heartbroken. He wished her well and left the same way he had come, and the mirror had been perfectly normal after that.

But it hadn't. Ever since that day, Ginny had seen things in it that she couldn't explain, images that seemed half-finished. When the lightbulb in the room was on, it cast strange reflections on the glass. She wasn't sure whether she ought to get rid of the mirror completely, but she had moved it out of her bedroom. She hadn't told Harry yet, not because she was afraid of what he might say or that he might be jealous but because she didn't want him to worry.

Seeing Cassidy again had been like seeing a stranger, and though she had been glad he was all right, she didn't want him to return. Luckily for her, he hadn't, though she supposed it was because he didn't want to see how happy she was in a life without him. For all she knew, he had returned and hoped he would be able to sweep her away to a strange new life, filled with wonders and joys she couldn't have imagined. He hadn't thought to come back and find her perfectly happy to be folding baby clothes and planning out dinners for Harry to cook. Perhaps the thought was unfair – perhaps he really had wanted to see her again – but she just couldn't tell, and with anything from the labyrinth, it was safer to assume the worst.

There had been hints that her time in the labyrinth wasn't just something she could easily forget, as she had the first time. She had been older, and it was easier for teens to form and retain memories. That year had also been one that no one would ever forget; it didn't help that her memories were stranger than anyone else's.

But then, it seemed that was always the way. In her first year, she had lost parts of her life from being possessed by a bit of soul in a diary. It was probably only right that she would have extra memories in a later year. She sighed and wrapped a bit of elastic around the end of Lily's braid. Until she'd had children, the only person she had told about that year had been Bill, and the look in his eyes had warned her not to tell anyone else. He'd pitied her, as though he was sure a year of fighting had driven his baby sister insane and made her create another world to escape to.

Maybe she had. The only proof she'd had of the labyrinth by that time was her memory. She had returned to Hogwarts dressed in her Witch Queen clothes, but those had been clothes chosen so she could fight in them, and they weren't all that different from the Muggle clothes plenty of students wore under their uniforms. There would have been other explanations people could come up with for why her robe was missing, or what had happened to her hand, or even why she had vanished for a full day. Cokes hadn't stopped insisting she had leapt into the wall and he couldn't find the door she had used, but then, he'd died a week later and hadn't been there when she told Bill. Even if he had, she wouldn't have wanted him to be the one corroborating her story.

"Mum? Is something wrong?"

Ginny forced herself to smile as she hugged Lily. "Not at all. I'm just thinking."

"You got all quiet," Lily said. "I thought something was wrong." She set Philomena carefully on her pillow and wrapped her arms around Ginny, and despite her small voice, she sounded older than she truly was. "Daddy gets all quiet too, sometimes. Does that mean he's thinking?"

Ginny nodded, though she wasn't sure what she could say. "It's how people are in war sometimes," she said. "When a person goes through a war, they wind up quieter afterward." Though that wasn't always the case, she thought it was probably the safest one. The people who had gone through the war and didn't sometimes have quiet moments were the ones she worried about the most.

Lily nodded, as though she had understood that just as well as she understood the magic tricks her Muggle cousins could get so excited about were only illusions. "What about people who are already quiet?" she asked. "What happens to them when they go through a war?" She looked worried, and Ginny couldn't help wrapping her arms around her little girl and holding her as close as she possibly could.

"Don't worry about that now," she said. "You won't ever have to fight in a war. I promise. The world's a safer place for you than it was for me and your father."

"But you and Daddy had to fight, and so did your parents," Lily said. "Maybe I'll have to fight too, and Albus, and James, and Hugo, and Rose, and… and everyone else." She pulled away a bit from the hug and wiped tears from her eyes. "Is it bad that I can't remember everyone's names? Some of them are really tricky."

"It's perfectly fine," Ginny said with a smile. "To tell you the truth, sometimes I don't remember everyone's names either." It was only a slight exaggeration; there were enough Weasleys that having the first initial embroidered on their Christmas sweaters had become very helpful, and she knew she would have gotten more people's named mixed up if her own Mum hadn't still insisted on doing that, and on making everyone a sweater every Christmas.

Lily giggled and nestled under her blankets. Her expression grew somber again, though, as she pulled Philomena close to her chest. "But what if I have to fight? I think James is the only one brave enough to be in a war."

"Bravery doesn't always help," Ginny said. "But I promise you, you'll never have to fight." She bent and kissed Lily's forehead. "Now, get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow. Rose and Hugo are coming over, and then we're going out to a picnic with Molly and Lucy. You'll want to be nice and rested for all the playing you're going to do at the park."

Lily wrinkled her nose, but she was already starting to doze off. "But Molly and Lucy are boring," she mumbled. "They don't like playing with me and Hugo."

"Hush," Ginny said, and as her daughter's eyes closed, she crept out of the room and down the hall. There was some ice cream in the freezer, and once she could convince Albus to go to bed, she fully intended to indulge with that, some cookies her Mum had sent over, and some time with Harry. Even with James at school, the two of them didn't have nearly as much time together as she would have liked, and she rather missed her husband.

It would be a while yet before Albus would go to bed; Lily was young enough that they could convince her it was bedtime at sunset, but Albus insisted on staying up until it was dark outside. She found her younger son sitting by a window, looking out at the red clouds to the west. He'd been trying to learn how to draw lately, and a sketchbook sat on his knees, but he was distracted by the occasional cars rolling down the street and didn't notice his mother until Ginny sat beside him and set a hand on his head.

"It's not bedtime yet," he said at once, and Ginny smiled.

"I know," she said. "I wasn't here for that. I just thought we could sit together until your father comes home."

"And then it's bedtime?" he asked, sounding skeptical. Every day he tried to stay up a bit later, and Harry had suggested they just let him stay awake until he fell asleep on the floor, and then he would learn how late was too late.

"That depends on when he gets here," she said, glancing to the back window. Harry had been staying late at the Ministry due to some dark wizards who were trying to make a resurgence, but even though he got home too late for his children to run out to meet him, he liked to Apparate into the backyard. It was one of those endearing little habits that he had, and Ginny loved him all the more for keeping it even when it was completely useless. "Tell you what. I'll let you stay up until your dad's back. You can run out and say hi, and then it's straight to bed. Deal?"

Albus pondered for a moment – just as Lily would have, Ginny realized – before nodding. "Deal," he said. He looked out the front window again, then put away his sketchbook. "Were you telling Lily the goblin story again? The one with Cassidy and Isac and all the rest?"

"I was," Ginny said with a smile. "How could you tell? Or was it just a lucky guess?"

"Just a guess," Albus said, and he didn't look at all embarrassed at being found out about guessing. "You told me that story a lot when I was younger, so I thought you might tell it to her, too."

"Well, I do," Ginny said. "Tonight she asked me if the story was real or if it was made up. Then she asked me if it was true, because apparently things can be real without being true." She watched Albus carefully, wondering what he might think about that revelation and whether he might change his mind about the story, which he had gotten tired of several months ago.

Albus nodded. "Lily's very smart. What did you tell her?"

"I told her it was real," Ginny said. "Every last bit of it. But I guess you still don't believe me about that, do you?"

Albus looked out the window again. "I don't know. I used to think it was just something you'd make up to get us to fall asleep, because we wouldn't go to bed until we heard about Mum and the Goblin King, but now…" He bit his lower lip and hugged his knees to his chest. "I've seen things, and I don't know what they are. They look like goblins, but not the goblins from Gringotts. They're different, like the goblins from your stories."

Ginny wrapped her arms around her son, wondering just when she'd become more worried about her younger two children than she'd ever been over James. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" she asked, looking into the front garden as though she would be able to see the goblins.

"I didn't know if you'd believe me," he said. "You'd think I was just making fun of you for telling the stories. But I kept seeing them, and then I decided that you sounded like you really believed that you'd fought the Goblin King, so maybe you would believe that I've been seeing goblins." His voice shook, and he buried his face into her shoulder. "Are they going to take me away?"

"No," Ginny said at once. "If they try, I'll fight them all off, even if I have to use the shovel." She'd at least have magic that worked here, and her shoulders tensed as she thought about standing against a horde of goblins, all determined to pull her son away from her. It would be an even worse fight than she had faced against Jareth, but then, she would have something to actually fight for aside from herself.

Albus giggled suddenly, and when Ginny pushed him away to give him a perplexed look, he said, "James used to talk about how he would fight the Goblin King, and what he would use if he didn't have a wand. My favorite was the story with the balloons." He giggled again. "I don't remember all of it, but I remember it was really funny."

"Well, I'll have to remind him to tell me over Christmas," she said. She'd also have to remember to ask Bill if there was any truth at all to his stories. No matter what he'd thought when she'd told him about her sixth year, she knew Albus wasn't crazy and didn't have an overactive imagination. James or Lily might have the latter, but not Albus. "And don't worry about the goblins," she said, tapping his forehead with her thumb. "You have to be wished away to them, and no one's going to do that. Not to you."

"What if James does?" Albus asked. "He makes fun of me all the time, and he might want me to go be with the goblins."

"Don't worry," Ginny said again. "James is old enough to know better, and you're sweet enough that he wouldn't want to, anyway. The two of you aren't anything like Ron and I were." Before she could go on, she heard a faint crack from the backyard, and when she looked out the window, she saw Harry standing in the backyard. He looked rather frazzled but well, and she smiled to see him.

Albus jumped to his feet and ran to the backyard, calling over his shoulder as he went, "It isn't bedtime yet! It's still light out. Dad's just back early!"

"All right," Ginny said, getting to her feet. She followed her son outside, and by the time she was on the back porch, Harry and Albus were already in a serious conversation. She heard Albus mention something about goblins, and when Harry looked up at her in confusion, she could only mouth _I'll tell you later_. Harry nodded, and as they went back inside, Ginny realized that the story hadn't ended with Cassidy becoming the Goblin King. It hadn't even ended when he went back into the mirror. The story might not end for a very long time.

However long it lasted, she would see it through, and if she couldn't, then she would prepare her children to do so. Even if they did have something to worry about, they would be able to face it.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there's the end! I hope you guys enjoyed; I had lots of fun writing this, and I used it mostly as a little break from my other Potter fic. If you're interested, it's a seven-part next generation story, and I'll be starting Part Four relatively soon. You should also check out some of my other crossover stuff, and thank you for reading!


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